Rhythm Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:RYTM) Coverage Initiated by Analysts at Wolfe Research

Key Points

• Wolfe Research initiated coverage of Rhythm Pharmaceuticals with an “outperform” rating. The stock has a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating from analysts, with an average price target of $140.67.
• Rhythm reported quarterly EPS of -$0.73, beating estimates of -$0.81, while revenue reached $71.25 million, up 46.9% year over year and above expectations.
• Shares opened at $98.01, with a market capitalization of approximately $6.72 billion. Insiders sold 295,450 shares worth about $32.5 million over the past quarter, while major institutions including BlackRock and Primecap initiated sizable positions.

Investment analysts at Wolfe Research started coverage on shares of Rhythm Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:RYTM - Get Free Report) in a research report issued to clients and investors on Thursday, Marketbeat Ratings reports. The firm set an "outperform" rating on the stock.

Other equities research analysts also recently issued reports about the stock. National Bank Financial set a $160.00 price target on shares of Rhythm Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Wednesday, August 5th. Stifel Nicolaus set a $133.00 target price on Rhythm Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Monday, June 15th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "sell (d-)" rating on shares of Rhythm Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Friday, July 17th. Citigroup reiterated a "market outperform" rating on shares of Rhythm Pharmaceuticals in a report on Wednesday, August 5th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft began coverage on Rhythm Pharmaceuticals in a report on Friday, August 28th. They set a "hold" rating and a $120.00 price objective for the company. Seventeen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $140.67.

Rhythm Pharmaceuticals Price Performance

Shares of Rhythm Pharmaceuticals stock opened at $98.01 on Thursday. The stock's 50-day moving average is $107.78 and its 200 day moving average is $97.19. Rhythm Pharmaceuticals has a one year low of $74.50 and a one year high of $122.20. The firm has a market cap of $6.72 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -31.51 and a beta of 1.97.

Rhythm Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:RYTM - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 4th. The company reported ($0.73) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.81) by $0.08. The firm had revenue of $71.25 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $67.66 million. Rhythm Pharmaceuticals had a negative return on equity of 159.87% and a negative net margin of 85.59%.The company's revenue was up 46.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned ($0.75) earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Rhythm Pharmaceuticals will post -2.86 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Rhythm Pharmaceuticals

In other news, insider Alastair Garfield sold 7,763 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $117.57, for a total value of $912,695.91. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 2,295 shares of the company's stock, valued at $269,823.15. This represents a 77.18% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CEO David Meeker sold 50,000 shares of Rhythm Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $102.67, for a total value of $5,133,500.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 239,258 shares in the company, valued at approximately $24,564,618.86. The trade was a 17.29% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 295,450 shares of company stock valued at $32,508,337. Corporate insiders own 5.90% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Rhythm Pharmaceuticals

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. BlackRock Inc. bought a new stake in Rhythm Pharmaceuticals in the 2nd quarter worth about $683,601,000. Primecap Management Co. CA purchased a new position in shares of Rhythm Pharmaceuticals in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $351,838,000. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Rhythm Pharmaceuticals by 0.9% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,375,729 shares of the company's stock valued at $147,283,000 after acquiring an additional 12,900 shares in the last quarter. Westfield Capital Management Co. LP increased its position in shares of Rhythm Pharmaceuticals by 18.5% during the fourth quarter. Westfield Capital Management Co. LP now owns 1,267,158 shares of the company's stock valued at $135,637,000 after acquiring an additional 198,154 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Capital Research Global Investors increased its position in shares of Rhythm Pharmaceuticals by 64.7% during the fourth quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 985,086 shares of the company's stock valued at $105,444,000 after acquiring an additional 386,839 shares during the last quarter.

About Rhythm Pharmaceuticals

Rhythm Pharmaceuticals, Inc is a biopharmaceutical company focused on developing and commercializing therapies for rare genetic diseases of obesity and related metabolic disorders. The company's research is centered on the melanocortin-4 receptor (MC4R) pathway, which plays an important role in regulating hunger and energy balance.

Rhythm's primary product is IMCIVREE (setmelanotide), an MC4R agonist. In the United States, IMCIVREE is approved for chronic weight management in adults and children at least 2 years old with obesity and certain genetically confirmed conditions affecting the MC4R pathway, including pro-opiomelanocortin, proprotein convertase subtilisin/kexin type 1 and leptin receptor deficiencies, as well as Bardet-Biedl syndrome.

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