Wolfe Research Begins Coverage on Rhythm Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:RYTM)

Wolfe Research assumed coverage on shares of Rhythm Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:RYTM) in a report released on Thursday, MarketBeat reports. The firm set an “outperform” rating on the stock.

Several other analysts have also issued reports on RYTM. Canaccord Genuity Group set a $154.00 target price on Rhythm Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Wednesday, August 5th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Rhythm Pharmaceuticals in a report on Friday, July 17th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on shares of Rhythm Pharmaceuticals from $144.00 to $155.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, June 15th. Citigroup reiterated a “market outperform” rating on shares of Rhythm Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Wednesday, August 5th. Finally, Citizens Jmp boosted their price target on shares of Rhythm Pharmaceuticals from $155.00 to $160.00 and gave the company a “market outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 5th. Seventeen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $140.67.

Rhythm Pharmaceuticals Stock Performance

RYTM opened at $98.01 on Thursday. Rhythm Pharmaceuticals has a fifty-two week low of $74.50 and a fifty-two week high of $122.20. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $107.78 and a 200 day moving average of $97.19. The firm has a market cap of $6.72 billion, a P/E ratio of -31.51 and a beta of 1.97.

Rhythm Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:RYTM) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 4th. The company reported ($0.73) EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.81) by $0.08. Rhythm Pharmaceuticals had a negative net margin of 85.59% and a negative return on equity of 159.87%. The business had revenue of $71.25 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $67.66 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted ($0.75) earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 46.9% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts predict that Rhythm Pharmaceuticals will post -2.86 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Rhythm Pharmaceuticals

In other Rhythm Pharmaceuticals news, insider Joseph Shulman sold 5,079 shares of Rhythm Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $119.75, for a total transaction of $608,210.25. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 15,915 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,905,821.25. The trade was a 24.19% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, EVP Jennifer Lee sold 75,834 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $117.38, for a total value of $8,901,394.92. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 54,233 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,365,869.54. This represents a 58.30% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders have sold a total of 295,450 shares of company stock worth $32,508,337 in the last three months. 5.90% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Rhythm Pharmaceuticals

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. BlackRock Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Rhythm Pharmaceuticals in the 2nd quarter valued at $683,601,000. Primecap Management Co. CA purchased a new position in Rhythm Pharmaceuticals in the 2nd quarter worth $351,838,000. Jupiter Topco LLC bought a new stake in Rhythm Pharmaceuticals in the second quarter worth $102,752,000. Bank of America Corp DE lifted its stake in Rhythm Pharmaceuticals by 180.0% in the first quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 628,667 shares of the company’s stock worth $54,675,000 after purchasing an additional 404,183 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp purchased a new stake in Rhythm Pharmaceuticals during the second quarter valued at about $43,751,000.

About Rhythm Pharmaceuticals

Rhythm Pharmaceuticals, Inc is a biopharmaceutical company focused on developing and commercializing therapies for rare genetic diseases of obesity and related metabolic disorders. The company’s research is centered on the melanocortin-4 receptor (MC4R) pathway, which plays an important role in regulating hunger and energy balance.

Rhythm’s primary product is IMCIVREE (setmelanotide), an MC4R agonist. In the United States, IMCIVREE is approved for chronic weight management in adults and children at least 2 years old with obesity and certain genetically confirmed conditions affecting the MC4R pathway, including pro-opiomelanocortin, proprotein convertase subtilisin/kexin type 1 and leptin receptor deficiencies, as well as Bardet-Biedl syndrome.