Insider Selling: Rhythm Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:RYTM) CEO Sells 50,000 Shares of Stock

Key Points

• CEO David Meeker sold 50,000 Rhythm Pharmaceuticals shares at an average price of $102.67, generating $5.13 million. The transaction, conducted under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 plan, reduced his ownership by 17.29% to 239,258 shares.
• RYTM shares closed at $102.44, down $2.27, with the company valued at approximately $7.02 billion. The stock has traded between $74.50 and $122.20 over the past year.
• Analyst sentiment remains positive, with a “Moderate Buy” consensus and an average price target of $140.67. Rhythm recently exceeded quarterly EPS and revenue estimates, with revenue rising 46.9% year over year, although the company remains unprofitable.

Rhythm Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:RYTM - Get Free Report) CEO David Meeker sold 50,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $102.67, for a total transaction of $5,133,500.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 239,258 shares in the company, valued at approximately $24,564,618.86. The trade was a 17.29% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan.

Rhythm Pharmaceuticals Stock Performance

RYTM traded down $2.27 on Monday, reaching $102.44. 771,838 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 438,820. Rhythm Pharmaceuticals, Inc. has a twelve month low of $74.50 and a twelve month high of $122.20. The company has a market cap of $7.02 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -32.94 and a beta of 1.97. The company's 50 day moving average is $108.46 and its 200-day moving average is $97.21.

Rhythm Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:RYTM - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 4th. The company reported ($0.73) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.81) by $0.08. The company had revenue of $71.25 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $67.66 million. Rhythm Pharmaceuticals had a negative net margin of 85.59% and a negative return on equity of 159.87%. The business's quarterly revenue was up 46.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted ($0.75) earnings per share. Sell-side analysts forecast that Rhythm Pharmaceuticals, Inc. will post -2.86 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Rhythm Pharmaceuticals by 303.0% in the 4th quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 266 shares of the company's stock worth $28,000 after acquiring an additional 200 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its stake in Rhythm Pharmaceuticals by 36.3% during the second quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 364 shares of the company's stock valued at $40,000 after buying an additional 97 shares in the last quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of Rhythm Pharmaceuticals in the second quarter worth approximately $51,000. Covestor Ltd lifted its position in shares of Rhythm Pharmaceuticals by 328.9% in the 4th quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 579 shares of the company's stock valued at $62,000 after acquiring an additional 444 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Clearstead Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Rhythm Pharmaceuticals by 212.3% in the 4th quarter. Clearstead Advisors LLC now owns 1,246 shares of the company's stock worth $133,000 after purchasing an additional 847 shares during the period.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have recently commented on RYTM. TD Cowen reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of Rhythm Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Wednesday, June 17th. National Bank Financial set a $160.00 price target on shares of Rhythm Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Wednesday, August 5th. Stifel Nicolaus set a $133.00 price objective on Rhythm Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Monday, June 15th. Leerink Partners initiated coverage on shares of Rhythm Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Monday. They issued an "outperform" rating and a $133.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on Rhythm Pharmaceuticals from $144.00 to $155.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday, June 15th. Sixteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $140.67.

About Rhythm Pharmaceuticals

Rhythm Pharmaceuticals, Inc is a biopharmaceutical company focused on developing and commercializing therapies for rare genetic diseases of obesity and related metabolic disorders. The company's research is centered on the melanocortin-4 receptor (MC4R) pathway, which plays an important role in regulating hunger and energy balance.

Rhythm's primary product is IMCIVREE (setmelanotide), an MC4R agonist. In the United States, IMCIVREE is approved for chronic weight management in adults and children at least 2 years old with obesity and certain genetically confirmed conditions affecting the MC4R pathway, including pro-opiomelanocortin, proprotein convertase subtilisin/kexin type 1 and leptin receptor deficiencies, as well as Bardet-Biedl syndrome.

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