Rhythm Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:RYTM) Shares Down 3.3% – Here’s Why

Shares of Rhythm Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:RYTM) dropped 3.3% on Tuesday . The stock traded as low as $109.31 and last traded at $108.8750. Approximately 248,322 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 64% from the average daily volume of 680,928 shares. The stock had previously closed at $112.55.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts recently commented on the stock. Citizens Jmp boosted their price objective on shares of Rhythm Pharmaceuticals from $141.00 to $167.00 and gave the stock a “market outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, December 12th. JMP Securities boosted their price target on Rhythm Pharmaceuticals from $135.00 to $142.00 and gave the stock a “market outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, September 25th. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $150.00 price objective on shares of Rhythm Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Thursday, December 11th. HC Wainwright boosted their target price on Rhythm Pharmaceuticals from $110.00 to $123.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, December 22nd. Finally, Cowen restated a “buy” rating on shares of Rhythm Pharmaceuticals in a report on Thursday, December 11th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have issued a Buy rating, one has assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $126.47.

Rhythm Pharmaceuticals Price Performance

The firm has a market capitalization of $7.14 billion, a PE ratio of -34.45 and a beta of 1.96. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $107.01 and a 200 day moving average price of $96.15.

Rhythm Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:RYTM) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, November 4th. The company reported ($0.82) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.72) by ($0.10). The company 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%. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Rhythm Pharmaceuticals, Inc. will post -4.32 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity at Rhythm Pharmaceuticals

In related news, insider Pamela J. Cramer sold 3,350 shares of Rhythm Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $111.00, for a total value of $371,850.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 20,814 shares in the company, valued at $2,310,354. The trade was a 13.86% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Joseph Shulman sold 9,748 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, October 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $115.24, for a total transaction of $1,123,359.52. Following the transaction, the insider owned 8,509 shares in the company, valued at approximately $980,577.16. This represents a 53.39% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 30,350 shares of company stock worth $3,436,340. Company insiders own 6.10% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Rhythm Pharmaceuticals

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Trexquant Investment LP grew its stake in Rhythm Pharmaceuticals by 396.6% during the 1st quarter. Trexquant Investment LP now owns 38,724 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,051,000 after buying an additional 30,926 shares during the last quarter. Panagora Asset Management Inc. acquired a new stake in Rhythm Pharmaceuticals in the first quarter worth about $7,477,000. Cubist Systematic Strategies LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Rhythm Pharmaceuticals during the first quarter worth about $9,207,000. PDT Partners LLC increased its holdings in shares of Rhythm Pharmaceuticals by 134.5% during the first quarter. PDT Partners LLC now owns 102,195 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,413,000 after acquiring an additional 58,612 shares in the last quarter. Finally, ADAR1 Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of Rhythm Pharmaceuticals by 19.2% in the 1st quarter. ADAR1 Capital Management LLC now owns 36,890 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,954,000 after purchasing an additional 5,949 shares during the last quarter.

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.