Hunter Smith Sells 62,774 Shares of Rhythm Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:RYTM) Stock

Rhythm Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:RYTM) CFO Hunter Smith sold 62,774 shares of Rhythm Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction on Monday, August 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $105.46, for a total value of $6,620,146.04. Following the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 114,024 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $12,024,971.04. The trade was a 35.51% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan.

Rhythm Pharmaceuticals Trading Down 1.3%

NASDAQ RYTM traded down $1.39 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $104.74. 322,694 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 767,008. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $109.88 and a 200 day simple moving average of $96.92. Rhythm Pharmaceuticals, Inc. has a 12 month low of $74.50 and a 12 month high of $122.20. The company has a market capitalization of $7.18 billion, a P/E ratio of -33.68 and a beta of 1.92.

Rhythm Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:RYTM) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, August 4th. The company reported ($0.73) earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.81) by $0.08. The firm had revenue of $71.25 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $67.66 million. Rhythm Pharmaceuticals had a negative return on equity of 159.87% and a negative net margin of 85.59%.The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 46.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned ($0.75) EPS. Equities research analysts predict that Rhythm Pharmaceuticals, Inc. will post -2.82 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have recently commented on RYTM. Citigroup reissued a “market outperform” rating on shares of Rhythm Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Wednesday, August 5th. Citizens Jmp upped their price objective on Rhythm Pharmaceuticals from $155.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock a “market outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 5th. Canaccord Genuity Group set a $154.00 price objective on Rhythm Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Wednesday, August 5th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft initiated coverage on Rhythm Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Friday. They set a “hold” rating and a $120.00 target price for the company. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on Rhythm Pharmaceuticals from $145.00 to $146.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, August 7th. Fifteen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Rhythm Pharmaceuticals presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $141.12.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Rhythm Pharmaceuticals

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of RYTM. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Rhythm Pharmaceuticals by 303.0% during the 4th quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 266 shares of the company’s stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 200 shares in the last quarter. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. grew its holdings in shares of Rhythm Pharmaceuticals by 73.2% during the fourth quarter. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. now owns 343 shares of the company’s stock worth $37,000 after purchasing an additional 145 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its holdings in Rhythm Pharmaceuticals by 36.3% in the second quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 364 shares of the company’s stock valued at $40,000 after purchasing an additional 97 shares during the period. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Rhythm Pharmaceuticals by 39.5% in the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 399 shares of the company’s stock worth $43,000 after purchasing an additional 113 shares during the period. Finally, Global Retirement Partners LLC acquired a new stake in Rhythm Pharmaceuticals during the 2nd quarter worth about $51,000.

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.