Driehaus Capital Management LLC Purchases 167,047 Shares of Rhythm Pharmaceuticals, Inc. $RYTM

Key Points

• Driehaus Capital Management LLC has increased its stake in Rhythm Pharmaceuticals by 12.9%, holding 1,458,022 shares valued at approximately $77 million.
• Despite a revenue increase of 66.8% year-over-year, Rhythm Pharmaceuticals reported a loss of ($0.75) earnings per share, missing analyst estimates.
• Wall Street analysts have raised price targets for Rhythm Pharmaceuticals, with JMP Securities setting a target of $135, indicating optimism about the company's future performance.

Driehaus Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Rhythm Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:RYTM - Free Report) by 12.9% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 1,458,022 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 167,047 shares during the period. Driehaus Capital Management LLC owned about 2.29% of Rhythm Pharmaceuticals worth $77,231,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. lifted its stake in Rhythm Pharmaceuticals by 1,386.2% during the first quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 4,518 shares of the company's stock valued at $239,000 after purchasing an additional 4,214 shares during the last quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets increased its stake in Rhythm Pharmaceuticals by 491.0% in the 4th quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 85,249 shares of the company's stock valued at $4,772,000 after buying an additional 70,824 shares during the period. SG Americas Securities LLC acquired a new position in shares of Rhythm Pharmaceuticals during the 1st quarter worth $1,042,000. Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Rhythm Pharmaceuticals by 0.7% during the 1st quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 37,156 shares of the company's stock worth $1,968,000 after purchasing an additional 272 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. acquired a new position in Rhythm Pharmaceuticals in the 1st quarter valued at $1,176,000.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

RYTM has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Canaccord Genuity Group raised their price target on shares of Rhythm Pharmaceuticals from $92.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, July 18th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on shares of Rhythm Pharmaceuticals from $91.00 to $129.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 10th. JMP Securities lifted their target price on shares of Rhythm Pharmaceuticals from $130.00 to $135.00 and gave the company a "market outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 6th. Oppenheimer lifted their target price on shares of Rhythm Pharmaceuticals from $76.00 to $110.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 10th. Finally, Guggenheim boosted their price target 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. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and fourteen have assigned a Buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $101.57.

Rhythm Pharmaceuticals Stock Up 1.0%

RYTM stock traded up $1.06 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $104.21. The company's stock had a trading volume of 754,699 shares, compared to its average volume of 659,943. Rhythm Pharmaceuticals, Inc. has a 52 week low of $45.00 and a 52 week high of $106.52. The stock has a market cap of $6.92 billion, a PE ratio of -34.62 and a beta of 2.23. The business's 50-day simple moving average is $86.78 and its 200-day simple moving average is $68.38.

Rhythm Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:RYTM - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, August 5th. The company reported ($0.75) EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.66) by ($0.09). The firm had revenue of $48.50 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate 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 firm's revenue for the quarter was up 66.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted ($0.55) EPS. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Rhythm Pharmaceuticals, Inc. will post -4.32 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Rhythm Pharmaceuticals

In related news, CAO Christopher Paul German sold 3,817 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $80.75, for a total transaction of $308,222.75. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer owned 922 shares in the company, valued at approximately $74,451.50. This represents a 80.54% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Hunter C. Smith sold 42,120 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $80.48, for a total transaction of $3,389,817.60. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer owned 116,915 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $9,409,319.20. This represents a 26.48% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 119,177 shares of company stock worth $9,977,553 over the last ninety days. 6.10% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

About Rhythm Pharmaceuticals

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.