Rhythm Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:RYTM) Shares Gap Up After Earnings Beat

Rhythm Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:RYTM)’s share price gapped up before the market opened on Tuesday following a better than expected earnings announcement. The stock had previously closed at $85.58, but opened at $93.90. Rhythm Pharmaceuticals shares last traded at $92.80, with a volume of 446,340 shares changing hands.

The company reported ($0.83) earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.86) by $0.03. Rhythm Pharmaceuticals had a negative net margin of 103.57% and a negative return on equity of 266.56%. The business had revenue of $60.11 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $55.78 million. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned ($0.81) EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 83.8% on a year-over-year basis.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on RYTM. Canaccord Genuity Group decreased their target price on shares of Rhythm Pharmaceuticals from $141.00 to $140.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, March 2nd. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on shares of Rhythm Pharmaceuticals from $136.00 to $143.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, March 12th. Stifel Nicolaus set a $131.00 price target on shares of Rhythm Pharmaceuticals in a report on Thursday, February 26th. Bank of America cut their price target on shares of Rhythm Pharmaceuticals from $145.00 to $139.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, March 17th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada cut their price target on shares of Rhythm Pharmaceuticals from $140.00 to $130.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, March 17th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have issued a Buy rating, two have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $131.13.

Insider Activity

In related news, CFO Hunter C. Smith sold 4,385 shares of Rhythm Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $101.26, for a total transaction of $444,025.10. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer directly 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 sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CAO Christopher Paul German sold 5,614 shares of Rhythm Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $89.56, for a total transaction of $502,789.84. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer directly owned 160 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $14,329.60. This represents a 97.23% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold a total of 27,267 shares of company stock valued at $2,719,955 over the last three months. 6.10% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Rhythm Pharmaceuticals

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of RYTM. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Rhythm Pharmaceuticals by 303.0% in the fourth quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 266 shares of the company’s stock worth $28,000 after acquiring an additional 200 shares during the last quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Rhythm Pharmaceuticals by 97.2% in 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. Farther Finance Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Rhythm Pharmaceuticals by 1,110.3% in the third quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 351 shares of the company’s stock worth $35,000 after acquiring an additional 322 shares during the last quarter. Optiver Holding B.V. raised its stake in shares of Rhythm Pharmaceuticals by 65.2% in 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 last quarter. Finally, SBI Securities Co. Ltd. raised its stake in shares of Rhythm Pharmaceuticals by 73.2% in the fourth quarter. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. now owns 343 shares of the company’s stock worth $37,000 after acquiring an additional 145 shares during the last quarter.

Rhythm Pharmaceuticals Price Performance

The company has a market capitalization of $6.41 billion, a P/E ratio of -30.07 and a beta of 1.94. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $88.12 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $99.56.

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.