Rhythm Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:RYTM) Receives Consensus Rating of "Moderate Buy" from Brokerages

Key Points

• Analysts maintain a Moderate Buy consensus on Rhythm Pharmaceuticals, with 15 buy, three hold and one sell rating among 19 firms. The average 12-month price target is $141.12, above the stock’s reported $102.74 price.
• Rhythm reported quarterly revenue of $71.25 million, up 46.9% year over year and above estimates, while its adjusted loss of $0.73 per share beat expectations of $0.81.
• Insiders sold 245,450 shares worth approximately $27.4 million over the past 90 days, while several institutional investors—including California State Teachers’ Retirement System and Wellington Management—expanded their holdings.

Rhythm Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:RYTM - Get Free Report) has earned an average rating of "Moderate Buy" from the nineteen research firms that are covering the company, Marketbeat.com reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and fifteen have issued a buy rating on the company. The average 12 month price target among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $141.1176.

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. National Bank Financial set a $160.00 price objective on shares of Rhythm Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Wednesday, August 5th. Stifel Nicolaus set a $133.00 price target on shares of Rhythm Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Monday, June 15th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Rhythm Pharmaceuticals from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, May 9th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on Rhythm Pharmaceuticals from $144.00 to $155.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday, June 15th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "sell (d-)" rating on shares of Rhythm Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Friday, July 17th.

Insider Activity at Rhythm Pharmaceuticals

In other Rhythm Pharmaceuticals news, EVP Jennifer Lee sold 75,834 shares of Rhythm Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $117.38, for a total value of $8,901,394.92. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 54,233 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,365,869.54. The trade was a 58.30% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, Director Lynn A. Tetrault sold 37,000 shares of the 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 sale, the director owned 7,000 shares of the company's stock, valued at $702,240. This trade represents a 84.09% 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. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 245,450 shares of company stock worth $27,374,837. Company insiders own 5.90% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Rhythm Pharmaceuticals

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al acquired a new stake in Rhythm Pharmaceuticals during the 2nd quarter worth about $411,000. California State Teachers Retirement System raised its holdings in shares of Rhythm Pharmaceuticals by 10,703.5% during the second quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 7,109,362 shares of the company's stock valued at $789,352,000 after acquiring an additional 7,043,556 shares during the period. Braidwell LP lifted its position in shares of Rhythm Pharmaceuticals by 22.7% in the 2nd quarter. Braidwell LP now owns 381,128 shares of the company's stock valued at $42,317,000 after acquiring an additional 70,500 shares in the last quarter. Nykredit A S purchased a new stake in shares of Rhythm Pharmaceuticals in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $280,000. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its stake in Rhythm Pharmaceuticals by 78.5% in the 2nd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 488,747 shares of the company's stock worth $54,266,000 after purchasing an additional 214,990 shares during the period.

Rhythm Pharmaceuticals Trading Down 2.0%

Shares of NASDAQ:RYTM opened at $102.74 on Friday. The firm's 50 day moving average is $109.60 and its two-hundred day moving average is $97.12. The firm has a market capitalization of $7.04 billion, a P/E ratio of -33.04 and a beta of 1.97. Rhythm Pharmaceuticals has a 52 week low of $74.50 and a 52 week high of $122.20.

Rhythm Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:RYTM - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 4th. The company reported ($0.73) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.81) by $0.08. Rhythm Pharmaceuticals had a negative return on equity of 159.87% and a negative net margin of 85.59%.The business had revenue of $71.25 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $67.66 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted ($0.75) EPS. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 46.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts predict that Rhythm Pharmaceuticals will post -2.87 EPS for the current 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.

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