Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH Increases Stock Holdings in Rhythm Pharmaceuticals, Inc. $RYTM

Key Points

• Universal Beteiligungs increased its stake in Rhythm Pharmaceuticals by 21.9% in Q4, owning 123,537 shares after buying an additional 22,165 shares, worth about $13.22 million (roughly 0.19% of the company).
• Several large institutions hold sizable positions — RA Capital (~5.68M shares), Vanguard (~5.0M shares), JPMorgan (~1.19M shares) — and AllianceBernstein massively boosted its stake, reflecting strong institutional interest.
• Rhythm recently beat quarterly estimates (EPS -$0.73 vs. -$0.79; revenue $57.25M, up 36.9% YoY), and analysts maintain a consensus rating of Moderate Buy with a $131.13 average price target.

Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH increased its holdings in shares of Rhythm Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:RYTM - Free Report) by 21.9% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 123,537 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 22,165 shares during the period. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH owned about 0.19% of Rhythm Pharmaceuticals worth $13,218,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. RA Capital Management L.P. lifted its position in shares of Rhythm Pharmaceuticals by 2.2% during the 3rd quarter. RA Capital Management L.P. now owns 5,681,359 shares of the company's stock valued at $573,760,000 after buying an additional 120,000 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Rhythm Pharmaceuticals by 39.2% during the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 4,996,427 shares of the company's stock valued at $504,589,000 after buying an additional 1,407,313 shares in the last quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. lifted its position in shares of Rhythm Pharmaceuticals by 2.5% during the 3rd quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 1,727,885 shares of the company's stock valued at $174,499,000 after buying an additional 41,391 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its position in shares of Rhythm Pharmaceuticals by 51.6% during the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 1,188,069 shares of the company's stock valued at $119,983,000 after buying an additional 404,510 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Alliancebernstein L.P. lifted its position in shares of Rhythm Pharmaceuticals by 1,493.8% during the 3rd quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 979,682 shares of the company's stock valued at $98,938,000 after buying an additional 918,212 shares in the last quarter.

Rhythm Pharmaceuticals Stock Performance

Shares of RYTM stock opened at $85.70 on Friday. Rhythm Pharmaceuticals, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $55.31 and a fifty-two week high of $122.20. The stock's fifty day moving average is $89.56 and its two-hundred day moving average is $100.08. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.85 billion, a P/E ratio of -27.56 and a beta of 2.14.

Rhythm Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:RYTM - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 26th. The company reported ($0.73) EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.79) by $0.06. Rhythm Pharmaceuticals had a negative return on equity of 266.56% and a negative net margin of 103.57%.The business had revenue of $57.25 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $56.16 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned ($0.72) EPS. The company's quarterly revenue was up 36.9% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts forecast that Rhythm Pharmaceuticals, Inc. will post -3.08 earnings per share for the current year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

RYTM has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Guggenheim increased their target price on Rhythm Pharmaceuticals from $140.00 to $143.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, February 27th. Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on Rhythm Pharmaceuticals from $150.00 to $136.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, March 17th. Wall Street Zen lowered Rhythm Pharmaceuticals from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Sunday, April 19th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on Rhythm Pharmaceuticals from $136.00 to $143.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, March 12th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC decreased their price objective on Rhythm Pharmaceuticals from $139.00 to $130.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, March 17th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have assigned a Buy rating, two have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Rhythm Pharmaceuticals presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $131.13.

Insider Buying and Selling at Rhythm Pharmaceuticals

In other news, CAO Christopher Paul German sold 5,614 shares of Rhythm Pharmaceuticals 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 transaction, the chief accounting officer owned 160 shares in the company, valued at $14,329.60. The trade was a 97.23% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CFO Hunter C. Smith sold 4,385 shares of Rhythm Pharmaceuticals 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 transaction, the chief financial officer owned 110,512 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,190,445.12. This represents a 3.82% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 27,267 shares of company stock worth $2,719,955. Insiders own 6.10% of the company's stock.

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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