First Light Asset Management LLC Sells 208,663 Shares of Rhythm Pharmaceuticals, Inc. $RYTM

Key Points

• First Light Asset Management reduced its Rhythm Pharmaceuticals stake by 70.5%, selling 208,663 shares and retaining 87,181 shares valued at approximately $7.6 million.
• Other major institutional investors, including Vanguard and RA Capital Management, increased their positions. Analysts remain broadly positive, with a “Moderate Buy” consensus and an average price target of $138.29.
• Rhythm reported quarterly revenue of $60.11 million, up 83.8% year over year, and an adjusted loss of $0.83 per share, slightly better than analyst expectations.

First Light Asset Management LLC lowered its holdings in shares of Rhythm Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:RYTM - Free Report) by 70.5% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 87,181 shares of the company's stock after selling 208,663 shares during the period. First Light Asset Management LLC owned approximately 0.13% of Rhythm Pharmaceuticals worth $7,582,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in Rhythm Pharmaceuticals by 24.3% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 6,210,916 shares of the company's stock valued at $664,816,000 after buying an additional 1,214,489 shares during the period. RA Capital Management L.P. grew its position in shares of Rhythm Pharmaceuticals by 17.3% during the 4th quarter. RA Capital Management L.P. now owns 6,666,837 shares of the company's stock worth $713,618,000 after buying an additional 985,478 shares during the period. Alliancebernstein L.P. increased its stake in shares of Rhythm Pharmaceuticals by 1,493.8% in the 3rd quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 979,682 shares of the company's stock valued at $98,938,000 after acquiring an additional 918,212 shares in the last quarter. Jennison Associates LLC increased its stake in shares of Rhythm Pharmaceuticals by 123.2% in the 4th quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 918,567 shares of the company's stock valued at $98,323,000 after acquiring an additional 507,017 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Capital Research Global Investors lifted its position in shares of Rhythm Pharmaceuticals by 64.7% during the 4th quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 985,086 shares of the company's stock valued at $105,444,000 after acquiring an additional 386,839 shares during the period.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Lynn A. Tetrault sold 37,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $100.32, for a total transaction of $3,711,840.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 7,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $702,240. The trade was a 84.09% 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. Company insiders own 5.90% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages recently issued reports on RYTM. Canaccord Genuity Group raised their price target on shares of Rhythm Pharmaceuticals from $143.00 to $151.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, June 16th. Citigroup reiterated a "market outperform" rating on shares of Rhythm Pharmaceuticals in a report on Wednesday, June 3rd. Weiss Ratings reissued a "sell (d-)" rating on shares of Rhythm Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Friday, July 17th. Royal Bank Of Canada increased their price objective on shares of Rhythm Pharmaceuticals from $137.00 to $141.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 7th. Finally, TD Cowen restated a "buy" rating on shares of Rhythm Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Wednesday, June 17th. Fourteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $138.29.

Rhythm Pharmaceuticals Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:RYTM opened at $102.10 on Monday. The stock has a market cap of $7.00 billion, a PE ratio of -32.62 and a beta of 1.88. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $98.91 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $95.76. Rhythm Pharmaceuticals, Inc. has a 1-year low of $74.50 and a 1-year high of $122.20.

Rhythm Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:RYTM - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, May 5th. The company reported ($0.83) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.86) by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $60.11 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $55.78 million. Rhythm Pharmaceuticals had a negative net margin of 93.33% and a negative return on equity of 203.25%. The business's revenue was up 83.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted ($0.81) EPS. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Rhythm Pharmaceuticals, Inc. will post -3.1 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.