E Fund Management Co. Ltd. Makes New Investment in Rhythm Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:RYTM)

Key Points

• E Fund Management Co. Ltd. has made a new investment of approximately $286,000 in Rhythm Pharmaceuticals, acquiring 5,396 shares during the first quarter.
• The company's stock has exhibited substantial growth potential, with analysts predicting a price target increase to as high as $109.00, reflecting a strong "buy" sentiment from multiple research firms.
• Rhythm Pharmaceuticals reported a revenue increase of 66.8% year-over-year, despite a quarterly EPS loss of $(0.75), which was below analysts' expectations.

E Fund Management Co. Ltd. bought a new stake in Rhythm Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:RYTM - Free Report) during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor bought 5,396 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $286,000.

Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in RYTM. Wells Fargo & Company MN lifted its position in Rhythm Pharmaceuticals by 26.6% in the 4th quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN now owns 37,324 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,089,000 after purchasing an additional 7,850 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. boosted its holdings in Rhythm Pharmaceuticals by 14.5% during the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 302,846 shares of the company's stock worth $16,953,000 after buying an additional 38,429 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Rhythm Pharmaceuticals in the 4th quarter worth $218,000. Barclays PLC raised its holdings in Rhythm Pharmaceuticals by 27.3% during the 4th quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 135,397 shares of the company's stock worth $7,579,000 after buying an additional 29,000 shares during the period. Finally, Mariner LLC purchased a new position in Rhythm Pharmaceuticals during the 4th quarter worth approximately $254,000.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have commented on RYTM. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on Rhythm Pharmaceuticals from $91.00 to $129.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 10th. Leerink Partnrs raised Rhythm Pharmaceuticals to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Monday, July 7th. Leerink Partners initiated coverage on shares of Rhythm Pharmaceuticals in a report on Monday, July 7th. They set an "outperform" rating and a $88.00 price objective for the company. Canaccord Genuity Group increased their price objective on shares of Rhythm Pharmaceuticals from $92.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, July 18th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group assumed coverage on shares of Rhythm Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Thursday, July 10th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $97.00 target price on the stock. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, fourteen have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Rhythm Pharmaceuticals presently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus price target of $101.57.

Rhythm Pharmaceuticals Trading Up 1.2%

Shares of NASDAQ RYTM traded up $1.13 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $97.61. The company's stock had a trading volume of 522,257 shares, compared to its average volume of 579,718. The stock has a market capitalization of $6.48 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -32.43 and a beta of 2.38. Rhythm Pharmaceuticals, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $43.57 and a fifty-two week high of $99.04. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $78.46 and a 200-day simple moving average of $65.13.

Rhythm Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:RYTM - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, August 5th. The company reported ($0.75) earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.66) by ($0.09). The firm had revenue of $48.50 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $43.72 million. Rhythm Pharmaceuticals had a negative return on equity of 1,831.43% and a negative net margin of 117.13%. Rhythm Pharmaceuticals's quarterly revenue was up 66.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted ($0.55) earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Rhythm Pharmaceuticals, Inc. will post -4.32 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity at Rhythm Pharmaceuticals

In other Rhythm Pharmaceuticals news, insider Joseph Shulman sold 7,969 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $77.78, for a total value of $619,828.82. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 8,509 shares of the company's stock, valued at $661,830.02. The trade was a 48.36% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CFO Hunter C. Smith sold 42,120 shares of Rhythm Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $80.48, for a total value of $3,389,817.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 116,915 shares of the company's stock, valued at $9,409,319.20. This represents a 26.48% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 114,989 shares of company stock valued at $9,558,460 in the last ninety days. Company insiders own 6.10% of the company's stock.

Rhythm Pharmaceuticals 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.