Rhythm Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:RYTM) Given Consensus Recommendation of "Moderate Buy" by Analysts

Key Points

• Analysts give Rhythm a consensus rating of Moderate Buy (19 analysts: 15 buy, 1 strong buy, 2 hold, 1 sell) with an average 12‑month price target of $131.13.
• Insiders have sold 27,267 shares worth about $2.72M in the past three months (insiders own 6.1%), even as major institutions—Vanguard, RA Capital, AllianceBernstein and Jennison—substantially increased their stakes to multi‑million‑share positions.
• Rhythm beat Q4 revenue estimates ($57.25M vs. $56.16M) and posted EPS of (‑$0.73) vs. (‑$0.79) est., but remains unprofitable with negative margins and a consensus forecast of ~-3.08 EPS for the year; the stock trades near $81.81 with a market cap of $5.59B and a 12‑month high of $122.20.

Rhythm Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:RYTM - Get Free Report) has been given a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" by the nineteen brokerages that are currently covering the firm, MarketBeat Ratings reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating, fifteen have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. The average 12-month price objective among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $131.1250.

A number of research analysts have recently commented on the company. Weiss Ratings reissued a "sell (d-)" rating on shares of Rhythm Pharmaceuticals in a report on Tuesday, April 21st. Canaccord Genuity Group reduced their price objective on shares of Rhythm Pharmaceuticals from $141.00 to $140.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Monday, March 2nd. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Rhythm Pharmaceuticals from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 17th. Morgan Stanley lowered their target price on shares of Rhythm Pharmaceuticals from $150.00 to $136.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, March 17th. Finally, Citizens Jmp dropped their price target on shares of Rhythm Pharmaceuticals from $176.00 to $152.00 and set a "market outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, March 17th.

Insider Activity at Rhythm Pharmaceuticals

In related news, CAO Christopher Paul German sold 5,614 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the chief accounting officer owned 160 shares of the company's stock, valued at $14,329.60. The trade was a 97.23% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CFO Hunter C. Smith sold 4,385 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the sale, the chief financial officer owned 110,512 shares of the company's stock, valued at $11,190,445.12. This trade represents a 3.82% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last three months, insiders have sold 27,267 shares of company stock worth $2,719,955. 6.10% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Rhythm Pharmaceuticals

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of RYTM. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in Rhythm Pharmaceuticals by 39.2% during the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 4,996,427 shares of the company's stock worth $504,589,000 after acquiring an additional 1,407,313 shares during the period. RA Capital Management L.P. lifted its holdings in Rhythm Pharmaceuticals by 17.3% in the 4th quarter. RA Capital Management L.P. now owns 6,666,837 shares of the company's stock valued at $713,618,000 after acquiring an additional 985,478 shares during the last quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. lifted its holdings in Rhythm Pharmaceuticals by 1,493.8% in the 3rd quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 979,682 shares of the company's stock valued at $98,938,000 after acquiring an additional 918,212 shares during the last quarter. Capital Research Global Investors bought a new position in shares of Rhythm Pharmaceuticals during the 3rd quarter valued at about $60,417,000. Finally, Jennison Associates LLC grew its stake in shares of Rhythm Pharmaceuticals by 123.2% in the 4th quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 918,567 shares of the company's stock worth $98,323,000 after purchasing an additional 507,017 shares during the last quarter.

Rhythm Pharmaceuticals Trading Up 0.6%

RYTM opened at $81.81 on Friday. The business's 50 day moving average is $88.12 and its 200-day moving average is $99.60. The stock has a market cap of $5.59 billion, a PE ratio of -26.31 and a beta of 1.94. Rhythm Pharmaceuticals has a twelve month low of $55.31 and a twelve month high of $122.20.

Rhythm Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:RYTM - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, February 26th. The company reported ($0.73) EPS for the quarter, beating 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 firm had revenue of $57.25 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $56.16 million. During the same period last year, the firm earned ($0.72) EPS. The firm's revenue was up 36.9% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts forecast that Rhythm Pharmaceuticals will post -3.08 EPS for the current year.

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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