Rhythm Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:RYTM) Upgraded at Wall Street Zen

Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Rhythm Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:RYTM) from a sell rating to a hold rating in a research report sent to investors on Saturday.

RYTM has been the topic of a number of other research reports. Citigroup cut their price target on shares of Rhythm Pharmaceuticals from $136.00 to $131.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, March 17th. UBS Group reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Rhythm Pharmaceuticals in a report on Wednesday, December 17th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Rhythm Pharmaceuticals in a report on Thursday, January 22nd. Guggenheim raised their price target on shares of Rhythm Pharmaceuticals from $140.00 to $143.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 27th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus set a $131.00 price target on shares of Rhythm Pharmaceuticals in a report on Thursday, February 26th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have assigned a Buy rating, two have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Rhythm Pharmaceuticals has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $131.13.

Rhythm Pharmaceuticals Stock Up 2.9%

Shares of NASDAQ:RYTM opened at $86.81 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $5.93 billion, a PE ratio of -27.91 and a beta of 2.14. The company’s fifty day moving average is $92.42 and its 200 day moving average is $100.88. Rhythm Pharmaceuticals has a 52 week low of $55.31 and a 52 week high of $122.20.

Rhythm Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:RYTM) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, February 26th. The company reported ($0.73) EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.79) by $0.06. The company 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 103.57% and a negative return on equity of 266.56%. The firm’s revenue was up 36.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned ($0.72) EPS. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Rhythm Pharmaceuticals will post -4.32 EPS for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Rhythm Pharmaceuticals news, CAO Christopher Paul German sold 5,614 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $89.56, for a total value of $502,789.84. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer owned 160 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $14,329.60. This trade represents a 97.23% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, 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 sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 110,512 shares in the company, valued at $11,190,445.12. The trade was a 3.82% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last three months, insiders sold 27,267 shares of company stock worth $2,719,955. Insiders own 6.10% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Rhythm Pharmaceuticals

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Xponance LLC boosted its stake in shares of Rhythm Pharmaceuticals by 2.6% during the 4th quarter. Xponance LLC now owns 4,269 shares of the company’s stock valued at $457,000 after purchasing an additional 107 shares in the last quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. boosted its stake in shares of Rhythm Pharmaceuticals by 4.5% during the 3rd quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 2,568 shares of the company’s stock valued at $259,000 after purchasing an additional 110 shares in the last quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Rhythm Pharmaceuticals by 39.5% during the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 399 shares of the company’s stock valued at $43,000 after purchasing an additional 113 shares in the last quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors boosted its stake in shares of Rhythm Pharmaceuticals by 0.7% during the 2nd quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 17,471 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,104,000 after purchasing an additional 114 shares in the last quarter. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its stake in shares of Rhythm Pharmaceuticals by 48.6% during the 4th quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 361 shares of the company’s stock valued at $39,000 after purchasing an additional 118 shares in the last quarter.

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.