The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company Takes $6.35 Million Position in Rhythm Pharmaceuticals, Inc. $RYTM

The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company acquired a new position in shares of Rhythm Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:RYTM) in the second quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor acquired 57,170 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,348,000.

Several other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Nan Fung Group Holdings Ltd purchased a new stake in Rhythm Pharmaceuticals in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $5,453,794. Algert Global LLC raised its holdings in shares of Rhythm Pharmaceuticals by 42.6% in the second quarter. Algert Global LLC now owns 83,431 shares of the company’s stock worth $9,263,000 after acquiring an additional 24,918 shares during the last quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. acquired a new position in shares of Rhythm Pharmaceuticals in the second quarter worth $15,085,000. Blue Owl Capital Holdings LP purchased a new stake in shares of Rhythm Pharmaceuticals in the second quarter valued at $6,823,000. Finally, E Fund Management Co. Ltd. purchased a new stake in shares of Rhythm Pharmaceuticals in the second quarter valued at $528,000.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts recently commented on the company. Stifel Nicolaus set a $133.00 price objective on Rhythm Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Monday, June 15th. National Bank Financial set a $160.00 target price on shares of Rhythm Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Wednesday, August 5th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Rhythm Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Friday, July 17th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on Rhythm Pharmaceuticals from $145.00 to $146.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, August 7th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft initiated coverage on Rhythm Pharmaceuticals in a report on Friday. They set a “hold” rating and a $120.00 price objective on the stock. Fifteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $141.12.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Joseph Shulman sold 5,079 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $119.75, for a total value of $608,210.25. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 15,915 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,905,821.25. This trade represents a 24.19% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, Director Lynn A. Tetrault sold 37,000 shares of Rhythm Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction on Monday, June 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $100.32, for a total value of $3,711,840.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 7,000 shares in the company, valued at $702,240. The trade was a 84.09% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders have sold 182,676 shares of company stock worth $20,754,691 over the last 90 days. Company insiders own 5.90% of the company’s stock.

Rhythm Pharmaceuticals Stock Performance

RYTM opened at $107.17 on Monday. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $109.78 and its 200 day simple moving average is $96.90. Rhythm Pharmaceuticals, Inc. has a 1 year low of $74.50 and a 1 year high of $122.20. The stock has a market capitalization of $7.34 billion, a PE ratio of -34.46 and a beta of 1.92.

Rhythm Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:RYTM) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, August 4th. The company reported ($0.73) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.81) by $0.08. Rhythm Pharmaceuticals had a negative net margin of 85.59% and a negative return on equity of 159.87%. The firm had revenue of $71.25 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $67.66 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned ($0.75) earnings per share. Rhythm Pharmaceuticals’s revenue was up 46.9% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Rhythm Pharmaceuticals, Inc. will post -2.82 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

About Rhythm Pharmaceuticals

Rhythm Pharmaceuticals, Inc is a clinical‐stage biotechnology company dedicated to developing targeted therapies for rare genetic diseases of obesity and metabolic dysfunction. The company’s research focuses on the melanocortin‐4 receptor (MC4R) pathway, which plays a central role in regulating appetite, energy expenditure and body weight. Using proprietary peptide technology, Rhythm aims to provide precision treatments to patients with specific genetic variants that disrupt normal weight regulation.

The company’s lead investigational product, setmelanotide, is a selective MC4R agonist designed to restore signaling in patients with deficiencies in genes such as POMC, LEPR and PCSK1.