Insider Selling: Rhythm Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:RYTM) EVP Sells 75,834 Shares of Stock

Rhythm Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:RYTM) EVP Jennifer Kayden Lee sold 75,834 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $117.38, for a total transaction of $8,901,394.92. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 54,233 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,365,869.54. The trade was a 58.30% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan.

Rhythm Pharmaceuticals Price Performance

Shares of RYTM stock traded down $0.54 on Friday, reaching $115.48. 334,875 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 730,495. The company has a 50-day moving average of $105.44 and a 200-day moving average of $96.45. The company has a market cap of $7.91 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -37.13 and a beta of 1.92. Rhythm Pharmaceuticals, Inc. has a one year low of $74.50 and a one year high of $122.20.

Rhythm Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:RYTM) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 4th. The company reported ($0.73) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.81) by $0.08. Rhythm Pharmaceuticals had a negative return on equity of 159.87% and a negative net margin of 85.59%.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 prior year, the company earned ($0.75) earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 46.9% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Rhythm Pharmaceuticals, Inc. will post -2.82 EPS for the current year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Citigroup restated a “market outperform” rating on shares of Rhythm Pharmaceuticals in a report on Wednesday, August 5th. Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their price target on Rhythm Pharmaceuticals from $141.00 to $155.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 5th. Stifel Nicolaus set a $133.00 price objective on Rhythm Pharmaceuticals in a report on Monday, June 15th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on Rhythm Pharmaceuticals from $144.00 to $155.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, June 15th. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group set a $154.00 price objective on Rhythm Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Wednesday, August 5th. Fifteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $142.44.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Rhythm Pharmaceuticals

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC grew its stake in Rhythm Pharmaceuticals by 303.0% in the 4th quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 266 shares of the company’s stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 200 shares during the period. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. grew its position in Rhythm Pharmaceuticals by 73.2% during the fourth quarter. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. now owns 343 shares of the company’s stock valued at $37,000 after buying an additional 145 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its position in Rhythm Pharmaceuticals by 36.3% during the second quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 364 shares of the company’s stock valued at $40,000 after buying an additional 97 shares during the period. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in Rhythm Pharmaceuticals by 39.5% during the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 399 shares of the company’s stock worth $43,000 after buying an additional 113 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Global Retirement Partners LLC purchased a new stake in Rhythm Pharmaceuticals during the second quarter worth about $51,000.

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.