Rhythm Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:RYTM) Now Covered by Analysts at Leerink Partners

Key Points

• Leerink Partners initiated coverage of Rhythm Pharmaceuticals with an “outperform” rating and a $133 price target, implying approximately 30.7% upside from the stock’s $101.77 closing price.
• Analyst sentiment is broadly positive: 16 analysts rate the stock a Buy, three rate it Hold, and one rates it Sell, resulting in a “Moderate Buy” consensus and an average price target of $140.67.
• Rhythm reported stronger-than-expected quarterly results, with an adjusted loss of $0.73 per share versus the $0.81 consensus estimate and revenue of $71.25 million, up 46.9% year over year. However, insiders sold 245,450 shares worth approximately $27.4 million over the past quarter.

Leerink Partners assumed coverage on shares of Rhythm Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:RYTM - Get Free Report) in a note issued to investors on Monday. The firm set an "outperform" rating and a $133.00 price target on the stock. Leerink Partners' price objective points to a potential upside of 30.68% from the stock's current price.

A number of other equities research analysts also recently weighed in on RYTM. Canaccord Genuity Group set a $154.00 price objective on shares of Rhythm Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Wednesday, August 5th. National Bank Financial set a $160.00 price objective on shares of Rhythm Pharmaceuticals in a report on Wednesday, August 5th. Royal Bank Of Canada upped their target price on shares of Rhythm Pharmaceuticals from $141.00 to $155.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 5th. Citigroup reiterated a "market outperform" rating on shares of Rhythm Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Wednesday, August 5th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on Rhythm Pharmaceuticals from $145.00 to $146.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, August 7th. Sixteen 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 company. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $140.67.

Rhythm Pharmaceuticals Stock Performance

Shares of RYTM stock traded down $2.94 on Monday, hitting $101.77. The stock had a trading volume of 182,566 shares, compared to its average volume of 751,019. Rhythm Pharmaceuticals has a 52-week low of $74.50 and a 52-week high of $122.20. The stock's 50 day moving average is $108.65 and its 200-day moving average is $97.18. The firm has a market capitalization of $6.97 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -33.00 and a beta of 1.97.

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

Insider Activity

In other Rhythm Pharmaceuticals news, insider Alastair Garfield sold 7,763 shares of Rhythm Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $117.57, for a total transaction of $912,695.91. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 2,295 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $269,823.15. The trade was a 77.18% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, Director Lynn Tetrault sold 37,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 22nd. The stock was 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 directly owned 7,000 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $702,240. The trade was a 84.09% decrease in their ownership of the stock. 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 have sold 245,450 shares of company stock valued at $27,374,837. 5.90% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Rhythm Pharmaceuticals

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Zweig DiMenna Associates LLC acquired a new position in shares of Rhythm Pharmaceuticals during the fourth quarter worth approximately $8,734,000. Orbimed Advisors LLC boosted its position in Rhythm Pharmaceuticals by 31.0% in the 1st quarter. Orbimed Advisors LLC now owns 314,100 shares of the company's stock valued at $27,317,000 after buying an additional 74,300 shares during the last quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA lifted its stake in shares of Rhythm Pharmaceuticals by 8.5% during the first quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA now owns 667,046 shares of the company's stock valued at $57,329,000 after acquiring an additional 52,383 shares during the period. Blue Owl Capital Holdings LP bought a new position in Rhythm Pharmaceuticals during the second quarter worth about $6,823,000. Finally, Los Angeles Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Rhythm Pharmaceuticals by 45.5% during the 4th quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC now owns 24,334 shares of the company's stock worth $2,721,000 after acquiring an additional 7,613 shares during the last quarter.

Rhythm Pharmaceuticals Company Profile

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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