Insider Selling: Rhythm Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:RYTM) Insider Sells 5,079 Shares of Stock

Key Points

• Insider sale: Joseph Shulman sold 5,079 Rhythm Pharmaceuticals shares for approximately $608,210 under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 plan, reducing his ownership by 24.19% to 15,915 shares.
• Quarterly performance: Rhythm reported revenue of $71.25 million, up 46.9% year over year and above estimates, while its adjusted loss of $0.73 per share was better than analysts’ expectations.
• Analyst outlook remains positive: The stock has a “Moderate Buy” consensus rating, with 15 Buy, two Hold, and one Sell rating and an average price target of $142.44, compared with a recent price of $115.44.

Rhythm Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:RYTM - Get Free Report) insider Joseph Shulman sold 5,079 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $119.75, for a total value of $608,210.25. Following the transaction, the insider owned 15,915 shares in the company, valued at $1,905,821.25. This trade represents a 24.19% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan.

Rhythm Pharmaceuticals Stock Down 0.0%

RYTM stock traded down $0.04 during trading on Monday, hitting $115.44. 412,048 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 787,953. Rhythm Pharmaceuticals, Inc. has a 52 week low of $74.50 and a 52 week high of $122.20. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $105.44 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $96.40. The stock has a market capitalization of $7.91 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -37.12 and a beta of 1.92.

Rhythm Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:RYTM - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, August 4th. The company reported ($0.73) earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.81) by $0.08. Rhythm Pharmaceuticals had a negative net margin of 85.59% and a negative return on equity of 159.87%. The company had revenue of $71.25 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $67.66 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned ($0.75) earnings per share. The firm's revenue was up 46.9% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Rhythm Pharmaceuticals, Inc. will post -2.82 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Rhythm Pharmaceuticals

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. AQR Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in Rhythm Pharmaceuticals by 148.2% in the 1st quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 39,363 shares of the company's stock worth $2,085,000 after buying an additional 23,506 shares in the last quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. raised its stake in Rhythm Pharmaceuticals by 6.4% during the 1st quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 35,282 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,874,000 after acquiring an additional 2,126 shares in the last quarter. Prudential Financial Inc. raised its stake in Rhythm Pharmaceuticals by 62.9% during the 2nd quarter. Prudential Financial Inc. now owns 7,095 shares of the company's stock valued at $423,000 after acquiring an additional 2,740 shares in the last quarter. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd boosted its position in Rhythm Pharmaceuticals by 11.2% during the 2nd quarter. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd now owns 240,345 shares of the company's stock worth $15,187,000 after acquiring an additional 24,152 shares during the period. Finally, Sei Investments Co. grew its stake in shares of Rhythm Pharmaceuticals by 10.0% in the second quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 33,145 shares of the company's stock worth $2,095,000 after purchasing an additional 3,004 shares in the last quarter.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on shares of Rhythm Pharmaceuticals from $144.00 to $155.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday, June 15th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on Rhythm Pharmaceuticals from $145.00 to $146.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, August 7th. Wall Street Zen raised Rhythm Pharmaceuticals from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, May 9th. Weiss Ratings restated a "sell (d-)" rating on shares of Rhythm Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Friday, July 17th. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group set a $154.00 price objective on Rhythm Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Wednesday, August 5th. Fifteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $142.44.

Rhythm Pharmaceuticals Company 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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