Rhythm Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:RYTM) CFO Hunter Smith Sells 3,247 Shares of Stock

Rhythm Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:RYTM) CFO Hunter Smith sold 3,247 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $105.99, for a total value of $344,149.53. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 128,918 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $13,664,018.82. This trade represents a 2.46% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink.

Rhythm Pharmaceuticals Price Performance

Shares of Rhythm Pharmaceuticals stock opened at $103.61 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $6.91 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -33.42 and a beta of 2.00. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $106.59 and its 200-day moving average is $102.36. Rhythm Pharmaceuticals, Inc. has a one year low of $45.90 and a one year high of $122.20.

Rhythm Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:RYTM) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, November 4th. The company reported ($0.82) EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.72) by ($0.10). The firm had revenue of $51.30 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $50.71 million. Rhythm Pharmaceuticals had a negative net margin of 110.32% and a negative return on equity of 433.21%. On average, equities analysts expect that Rhythm Pharmaceuticals, Inc. will post -4.32 EPS for the current year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Rhythm Pharmaceuticals

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. increased its holdings in shares of Rhythm Pharmaceuticals by 4.5% in the third quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 2,568 shares of the company’s stock valued at $259,000 after purchasing an additional 110 shares during the last quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors raised its holdings in Rhythm Pharmaceuticals by 0.7% in the 2nd quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 17,471 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,104,000 after acquiring an additional 114 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its holdings in Rhythm Pharmaceuticals by 48.6% in the 4th quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 361 shares of the company’s stock valued at $39,000 after acquiring an additional 118 shares during the period. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC lifted its position in Rhythm Pharmaceuticals by 97.2% during the third quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 286 shares of the company’s stock worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 141 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Optiver Holding B.V. boosted its holdings in shares of Rhythm Pharmaceuticals by 65.2% during the third quarter. Optiver Holding B.V. now owns 365 shares of the company’s stock worth $37,000 after acquiring an additional 144 shares during the period.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Canaccord Genuity Group lifted their price target on shares of Rhythm Pharmaceuticals from $114.00 to $141.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, December 12th. Needham & Company LLC raised their price objective on Rhythm Pharmaceuticals from $145.00 to $148.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 9th. Citigroup reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Rhythm Pharmaceuticals in a report on Friday, December 12th. UBS Group reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Rhythm Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Wednesday, December 17th. Finally, Oppenheimer downgraded Rhythm Pharmaceuticals from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 5th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have issued a Buy rating, one has assigned a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $131.29.

About Rhythm Pharmaceuticals

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.