Rhythm Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:RYTM) Stock Price Expected to Rise, Needham & Company LLC Analyst Says

Rhythm Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:RYTM) had its price target boosted by research analysts at Needham & Company LLC from $145.00 to $148.00 in a research note issued on Friday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a “buy” rating on the stock. Needham & Company LLC’s price objective would suggest a potential upside of 46.01% from the stock’s current price.

RYTM has been the subject of a number of other reports. Citigroup reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of Rhythm Pharmaceuticals in a report on Friday, December 12th. Oppenheimer downgraded shares of Rhythm Pharmaceuticals from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 5th. Guggenheim raised their price target on shares of Rhythm Pharmaceuticals from $120.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 17th. Cowen restated a “buy” rating on shares of Rhythm Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Thursday, December 11th. Finally, HC Wainwright increased their price objective on shares of Rhythm Pharmaceuticals from $110.00 to $123.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, December 22nd. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have assigned a Buy rating, one has issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Rhythm Pharmaceuticals currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $130.00.

Rhythm Pharmaceuticals Stock Performance

Shares of Rhythm Pharmaceuticals stock traded up $3.91 on Friday, reaching $101.37. The company had a trading volume of 123,150 shares, compared to its average volume of 597,745. Rhythm Pharmaceuticals has a 52-week low of $45.90 and a 52-week high of $122.20. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $105.80 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $97.97. The firm has a market cap of $6.76 billion, a PE ratio of -32.59 and a beta of 2.00.

Rhythm Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:RYTM) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, November 4th. The company reported ($0.82) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.72) by ($0.10). Rhythm Pharmaceuticals had a negative net margin of 110.32% and a negative return on equity of 433.21%. The firm had revenue of $51.30 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $50.71 million. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Rhythm Pharmaceuticals will post -4.32 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Rhythm Pharmaceuticals

In related news, insider Joseph Shulman sold 14,437 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, October 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $112.03, for a total value of $1,617,377.11. Following the transaction, the insider owned 8,509 shares in the company, valued at $953,263.27. This trade represents a 62.92% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $2,310,354. This represents a 13.86% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last quarter, insiders sold 30,350 shares of company stock valued at $3,436,340. Corporate insiders own 6.10% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Rhythm Pharmaceuticals

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC boosted its position in Rhythm Pharmaceuticals by 97.2% in the third quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 286 shares of the company’s stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 141 shares in the last quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC grew 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 purchasing an additional 322 shares during the last quarter. Optiver Holding B.V. raised its position in shares of Rhythm Pharmaceuticals by 65.2% during 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. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its stake in shares of Rhythm Pharmaceuticals by 48.6% in 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 during the last quarter. Finally, Osaic Holdings Inc. grew its stake in Rhythm Pharmaceuticals by 65.9% during the second quarter. Osaic Holdings Inc. now owns 979 shares of the company’s stock worth $62,000 after purchasing an additional 389 shares during the period.

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.