Comerica Bank Cuts Stake in Rhythm Pharmaceuticals, Inc. $RYTM

Key Points

• Comerica Bank sharply reduced its stake in Rhythm Pharmaceuticals by 98.1% in the fourth quarter, leaving it with 4,014 shares valued at about $430,000.
• Rhythm posted better-than-expected quarterly results, reporting a smaller-than-expected loss of $0.83 per share and revenue of $60.11 million, up 83.8% year over year.
• Insider selling and analyst sentiment were mixed, with recent sales by the CAO and CFO, while Wall Street largely remains positive with a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $131.81.

Comerica Bank reduced its position in shares of Rhythm Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:RYTM - Free Report) by 98.1% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 4,014 shares of the company's stock after selling 205,311 shares during the period. Comerica Bank's holdings in Rhythm Pharmaceuticals were worth $430,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Rhythm Pharmaceuticals by 97.2% in the 3rd quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 286 shares of the company's stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 141 shares in the last quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC boosted its position in Rhythm Pharmaceuticals by 1,110.3% during the third quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 351 shares of the company's stock worth $35,000 after purchasing an additional 322 shares in the last quarter. Optiver Holding B.V. grew its holdings in Rhythm Pharmaceuticals by 65.2% in the third quarter. Optiver Holding B.V. now owns 365 shares of the company's stock valued at $37,000 after purchasing an additional 144 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its holdings in Rhythm Pharmaceuticals by 48.6% in the fourth quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 361 shares of the company's stock valued at $39,000 after purchasing an additional 118 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Osaic Holdings Inc. increased its position in shares of Rhythm Pharmaceuticals by 65.9% in the second quarter. Osaic Holdings Inc. now owns 979 shares of the company's stock valued at $62,000 after buying an additional 389 shares in the last quarter.

Rhythm Pharmaceuticals Trading Up 4.5%

NASDAQ:RYTM opened at $91.31 on Wednesday. Rhythm Pharmaceuticals, Inc. has a 12-month low of $55.31 and a 12-month high of $122.20. The firm has a market cap of $6.26 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -29.17 and a beta of 1.94. The company's 50-day moving average is $87.59 and its two-hundred day moving average is $98.84.

Rhythm Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:RYTM - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 5th. The company reported ($0.83) EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.86) by $0.03. The business had revenue of $60.11 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $55.78 million. Rhythm Pharmaceuticals had a negative net margin of 93.33% and a negative return on equity of 203.25%. The company's quarterly revenue was up 83.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted ($0.81) earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Rhythm Pharmaceuticals, Inc. will post -3.04 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Rhythm Pharmaceuticals

In other news, CAO Christopher Paul German sold 5,614 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $89.56, for a total transaction of $502,789.84. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer owned 160 shares in the company, valued at $14,329.60. This trade represents a 97.23% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CFO Hunter C. Smith sold 4,385 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $101.26, for a total value of $444,025.10. Following the sale, the chief financial officer owned 110,512 shares in the company, valued at $11,190,445.12. This trade represents a 3.82% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold a total of 15,160 shares of company stock valued at $1,465,022 over the last ninety days. 5.90% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts recently commented on the stock. Citigroup decreased their price objective on shares of Rhythm Pharmaceuticals from $136.00 to $131.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, March 17th. Royal Bank Of Canada raised their target price on shares of Rhythm Pharmaceuticals from $136.00 to $137.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 6th. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Rhythm Pharmaceuticals from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 17th. Telsey Advisory Group set a $143.00 price target on shares of Rhythm Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Thursday, March 12th. Finally, Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on shares of Rhythm Pharmaceuticals from $150.00 to $136.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, March 17th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have issued a Buy rating, two have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned 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 price target of $131.81.

Rhythm Pharmaceuticals Profile

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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