Vanguard Group Inc. Purchases 1,407,313 Shares of Rhythm Pharmaceuticals, Inc. $RYTM

Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Rhythm Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:RYTM) by 39.2% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 4,996,427 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,407,313 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. owned 7.52% of Rhythm Pharmaceuticals worth $504,589,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Federated Hermes Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Rhythm Pharmaceuticals by 2.5% during the 3rd quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 1,727,885 shares of the company’s stock worth $174,499,000 after buying an additional 41,391 shares in the last quarter. Westfield Capital Management Co. LP grew its holdings in Rhythm Pharmaceuticals by 21.5% in the second quarter. Westfield Capital Management Co. LP now owns 1,629,468 shares of the company’s stock worth $102,966,000 after purchasing an additional 288,376 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Rhythm Pharmaceuticals by 1.9% in the second quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,311,253 shares of the company’s stock valued at $82,868,000 after purchasing an additional 24,085 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its holdings in shares of Rhythm Pharmaceuticals by 51.6% during the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 1,188,069 shares of the company’s stock valued at $119,983,000 after purchasing an additional 404,510 shares during the period. Finally, Alkeon Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Rhythm Pharmaceuticals by 24.5% during the 2nd quarter. Alkeon Capital Management LLC now owns 1,017,700 shares of the company’s stock worth $64,308,000 after purchasing an additional 200,000 shares in the last quarter.

Rhythm Pharmaceuticals Price Performance

Shares of RYTM stock opened at $99.15 on Thursday. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $104.56 and a 200-day moving average of $103.54. Rhythm Pharmaceuticals, Inc. has a one year low of $45.90 and a one year high of $122.20. The company has a market cap of $6.62 billion, a P/E ratio of -31.98 and a beta of 2.00.

Rhythm Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:RYTM) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 26th. The company reported ($0.73) earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.80) by $0.07. The business had revenue of $57.25 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $56.16 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 expect that Rhythm Pharmaceuticals, Inc. will post -4.32 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms recently weighed in on RYTM. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price target on Rhythm Pharmaceuticals from $141.00 to $157.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, December 12th. Oppenheimer lowered Rhythm Pharmaceuticals from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 5th. Guggenheim lifted their price target on shares of Rhythm Pharmaceuticals from $120.00 to $140.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 17th. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Rhythm Pharmaceuticals from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 17th. Finally, Citigroup reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of Rhythm Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Friday, December 12th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have issued a Buy rating, two have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $131.50.

Insider Activity at Rhythm Pharmaceuticals

In related news, insider Pamela J. Cramer sold 3,350 shares of Rhythm Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $111.00, for a total transaction of $371,850.00. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 20,814 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,310,354. This trade represents a 13.86% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CFO Hunter C. Smith sold 4,385 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $101.26, for a total value of $444,025.10. Following the completion of the transaction, 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 position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 25,003 shares of company stock valued at $2,589,015. 6.10% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.