Rhythm Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:RYTM) Earns Buy Rating from Needham & Company LLC

Needham & Company LLC restated their buy rating on shares of Rhythm Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:RYTM - Free Report) in a report released on Friday, Benzinga reports. Needham & Company LLC currently has a $50.00 price target on the stock.

Other equities research analysts have also issued research reports about the stock. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on shares of Rhythm Pharmaceuticals from $53.00 to $52.00 and set an overweight rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 18th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price target on Rhythm Pharmaceuticals from $42.00 to $52.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a report on Thursday, January 25th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of Buy and an average price target of $47.20.

Rhythm Pharmaceuticals Stock Performance

Shares of RYTM stock traded up $0.13 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $38.28. 305,047 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 621,424. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.30 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -11.98 and a beta of 1.90. Rhythm Pharmaceuticals has a one year low of $15.50 and a one year high of $52.57. The business's 50-day simple moving average is $41.82 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $38.67.

Rhythm Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:RYTM - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 22nd. The company reported ($0.70) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of ($0.70). The business had revenue of $24.23 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $25.38 million. Rhythm Pharmaceuticals had a negative return on equity of 96.02% and a negative net margin of 238.50%. The business's revenue was up 175.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted ($0.75) EPS. As a group, analysts anticipate that Rhythm Pharmaceuticals will post -4.05 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Rhythm Pharmaceuticals

In other Rhythm Pharmaceuticals news, insider Joseph Shulman sold 18,235 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $40.34, for a total transaction of $735,599.90. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 30 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,210.20. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In related news, insider Joseph Shulman sold 18,235 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $40.34, for a total transaction of $735,599.90. Following the sale, the insider now owns 30 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,210.20. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CFO Hunter C. Smith sold 15,515 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $39.22, for a total value of $608,498.30. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 97,939 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,841,167.58. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 172,069 shares of company stock worth $7,626,355 in the last three months. 4.70% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Rhythm Pharmaceuticals

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in RYTM. Perceptive Advisors LLC lifted its position in Rhythm Pharmaceuticals by 465.6% in the 4th quarter. Perceptive Advisors LLC now owns 2,154,110 shares of the company's stock worth $99,024,000 after buying an additional 1,773,282 shares in the last quarter. Artisan Partners Limited Partnership acquired a new stake in Rhythm Pharmaceuticals during the fourth quarter valued at $12,477,000. Polar Capital Holdings Plc increased its position in Rhythm Pharmaceuticals by 11.1% in the 3rd quarter. Polar Capital Holdings Plc now owns 2,500,000 shares of the company's stock worth $57,312,000 after purchasing an additional 250,000 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Rhythm Pharmaceuticals by 7.0% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 3,226,938 shares of the company's stock worth $148,342,000 after purchasing an additional 212,370 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Hudson Bay Capital Management LP acquired a new stake in shares of Rhythm Pharmaceuticals during the 3rd quarter valued at about $4,757,000.

Rhythm Pharmaceuticals Company Profile

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.