Rhythm Pharmaceuticals, Inc. $RYTM Shares Sold by Cormorant Asset Management LP

Key Points

• Cormorant Asset Management LP has significantly reduced its stake in Rhythm Pharmaceuticals, decreasing its holdings by 62.5% and now owns approximately 150,000 shares.
• Despite insider selling activity and a recent earnings miss, several analysts maintain a positive outlook on Rhythm Pharmaceuticals, with multiple price target upgrades resulting in an average price target of approximately $101.57.
• In the most recent quarter, Rhythm Pharmaceuticals showed strong revenue growth of 66.8% year-over-year, reporting $48.50 million in revenue, even though the company posted a negative EPS.

Cormorant Asset Management LP cut its stake in Rhythm Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:RYTM - Free Report) by 62.5% in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 150,000 shares of the company's stock after selling 250,000 shares during the quarter. Cormorant Asset Management LP owned about 0.24% of Rhythm Pharmaceuticals worth $7,946,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of RYTM. BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S acquired a new stake in shares of Rhythm Pharmaceuticals in the 1st quarter worth $34,000. State of Wyoming acquired a new stake in shares of Rhythm Pharmaceuticals in the 4th quarter worth $61,000. GF Fund Management CO. LTD. acquired a new stake in shares of Rhythm Pharmaceuticals in the 4th quarter worth $72,000. CWM LLC increased its stake in shares of Rhythm Pharmaceuticals by 92.3% in the 1st quarter. CWM LLC now owns 2,584 shares of the company's stock worth $137,000 after acquiring an additional 1,240 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bayforest Capital Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of Rhythm Pharmaceuticals in the 1st quarter worth $166,000.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

RYTM has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Bank of America raised their target price on Rhythm Pharmaceuticals from $73.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 10th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Rhythm Pharmaceuticals from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, July 26th. Guggenheim upped their target price on shares of Rhythm Pharmaceuticals from $119.00 to $120.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 6th. Leerink Partners began coverage on Rhythm Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Monday, July 7th. They issued an "outperform" rating and a $88.00 target price for the company. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group lifted their target price on Rhythm Pharmaceuticals from $92.00 to $105.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, July 18th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and fourteen have assigned a Buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $101.57.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Joseph Shulman sold 7,969 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $77.78, for a total transaction of $619,828.82. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 8,509 shares in the company, valued at $661,830.02. The trade was a 48.36% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CAO Christopher Paul German sold 3,817 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $80.75, for a total value of $308,222.75. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer owned 922 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $74,451.50. The trade was a 80.54% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 112,146 shares of company stock worth $9,499,093. 6.10% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Rhythm Pharmaceuticals Stock Performance

Shares of RYTM traded down $2.45 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $102.12. The company had a trading volume of 533,575 shares, compared to its average volume of 544,176. The company's 50-day simple moving average is $90.03 and its 200-day simple moving average is $69.58. The firm has a market capitalization of $6.78 billion, a P/E ratio of -33.93 and a beta of 2.23. Rhythm Pharmaceuticals, Inc. has a 1 year low of $45.90 and a 1 year high of $106.52.

Rhythm Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:RYTM - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 5th. The company reported ($0.75) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.66) by ($0.09). The company had revenue of $48.50 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $43.72 million. Rhythm Pharmaceuticals had a negative net margin of 117.13% and a negative return on equity of 1,831.43%. The business's quarterly revenue was up 66.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted ($0.55) EPS. Equities analysts predict that Rhythm Pharmaceuticals, Inc. will post -4.32 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Rhythm Pharmaceuticals Company Profile

Rhythm Pharmaceuticals, Inc, a commercial-stage biopharmaceutical company, focuses on the rare neuroendocrine diseases. The company's lead product candidate is IMCIVREE (setmelanotide), a rare melanocortin-4 receptor for the treatment of pro-opiomelanocortin (POMC), proprotein convertase subtilisin/kexin type 1, leptin receptor (LEPR) deficiency obesity, and Bardet-Biedl and Alström syndrome.