Stifel Nicolaus Issues Positive Forecast for Rhythm Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:RYTM) Stock Price

Rhythm Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:RYTM - Get Free Report) had its price target boosted by Stifel Nicolaus from $78.00 to $94.00 in a report issued on Thursday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has a "buy" rating on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus' price objective suggests a potential upside of 53.19% from the stock's previous close.

Other equities research analysts also recently issued reports about the stock. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and issued a $72.00 target price on shares of Rhythm Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Friday, March 7th. Bank of America raised shares of Rhythm Pharmaceuticals from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $63.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 7th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on shares of Rhythm Pharmaceuticals from $80.00 to $91.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday, April 7th. Canaccord Genuity Group lifted their price target on shares of Rhythm Pharmaceuticals from $81.00 to $92.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 8th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC lifted their price target on shares of Rhythm Pharmaceuticals from $66.00 to $72.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 7th. Thirteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Rhythm Pharmaceuticals presently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $76.62.

Rhythm Pharmaceuticals Stock Performance

RYTM traded down $0.52 on Thursday, reaching $61.36. The company had a trading volume of 484,159 shares, compared to its average volume of 556,174. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $59.55 and a 200 day simple moving average of $57.57. The company has a market cap of $3.90 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -14.17 and a beta of 2.36. Rhythm Pharmaceuticals has a 52-week low of $35.56 and a 52-week high of $68.58.

Rhythm Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:RYTM - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, May 7th. The company reported ($0.81) earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.69) by ($0.12). The company had revenue of $37.72 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $40.43 million. Rhythm Pharmaceuticals had a negative net margin of 230.07% and a negative return on equity of 367.36%. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 25.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned ($2.35) earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Rhythm Pharmaceuticals will post -4.32 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Yann Mazabraud sold 75,000 shares of Rhythm Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction on Friday, March 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $51.48, for a total value of $3,861,000.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 40,370 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,078,247.60. The trade was a 65.01% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, insider Pamela J. Cramer sold 20,760 shares of Rhythm Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $60.14, for a total transaction of $1,248,506.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 19,209 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,155,229.26. The trade was a 51.94% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 127,630 shares of company stock valued at $7,107,346 over the last three months. 6.10% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Rhythm Pharmaceuticals

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Rhumbline Advisers boosted its holdings in Rhythm Pharmaceuticals by 3.6% in the first quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 85,719 shares of the company's stock valued at $4,541,000 after acquiring an additional 2,988 shares in the last quarter. Strs Ohio bought a new stake in shares of Rhythm Pharmaceuticals during the 1st quarter valued at $980,000. Siren L.L.C. bought a new stake in shares of Rhythm Pharmaceuticals during the 1st quarter valued at $14,701,000. Intech Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Rhythm Pharmaceuticals by 20.7% during the 1st quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 33,893 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,795,000 after buying an additional 5,801 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bayforest Capital Ltd bought a new stake in shares of Rhythm Pharmaceuticals during the 1st quarter valued at $166,000.

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.