Rhythm Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:RYTM) Receives Average Rating of “Moderate Buy” from Brokerages

Rhythm Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:RYTM) has earned a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the six ratings firms that are currently covering the firm, MarketBeat reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average 12-month price target among analysts that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $55.83.

A number of research firms recently weighed in on RYTM. Bank of America cut shares of Rhythm Pharmaceuticals from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and lowered their target price for the company from $49.00 to $42.00 in a research note on Wednesday, May 8th. Canaccord Genuity Group lowered their target price on shares of Rhythm Pharmaceuticals from $80.00 to $79.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, May 8th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on shares of Rhythm Pharmaceuticals from $53.00 to $52.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 18th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC upped their target price on shares of Rhythm Pharmaceuticals from $46.00 to $55.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday.

Rhythm Pharmaceuticals Stock Performance

Shares of RYTM opened at $49.05 on Monday. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $42.42 and a 200-day simple moving average of $42.48. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.99 billion, a P/E ratio of -10.77 and a beta of 2.04. Rhythm Pharmaceuticals has a 52 week low of $17.34 and a 52 week high of $53.92.

Rhythm Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:RYTM) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, May 7th. The company reported ($2.35) EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($2.34) by ($0.01). The company had revenue of $26.00 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $26.90 million. Rhythm Pharmaceuticals had a negative net margin of 297.91% and a negative return on equity of 179.26%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 126.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted ($0.92) EPS. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Rhythm Pharmaceuticals will post -4.45 earnings per share for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Rhythm Pharmaceuticals news, insider Joseph Shulman sold 3,984 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $38.47, for a total transaction of $153,264.48. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 30 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,154.10. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 19,765 shares of company stock valued at $973,772. 5.60% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Rhythm Pharmaceuticals

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. CWM LLC increased its holdings in shares of Rhythm Pharmaceuticals by 62.6% in the second quarter. CWM LLC now owns 657 shares of the company’s stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 253 shares in the last quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank increased its holdings in shares of Rhythm Pharmaceuticals by 4.6% in the fourth quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 9,181 shares of the company’s stock valued at $422,000 after purchasing an additional 406 shares in the last quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Rhythm Pharmaceuticals by 91.5% in the fourth quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 1,256 shares of the company’s stock valued at $58,000 after purchasing an additional 600 shares in the last quarter. American International Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Rhythm Pharmaceuticals by 3.1% in the first quarter. American International Group Inc. now owns 26,318 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,140,000 after purchasing an additional 781 shares in the last quarter. Finally, AJOVista LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Rhythm Pharmaceuticals in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $42,000.

Rhythm Pharmaceuticals Company Profile

Rhythm Pharmaceuticals, Inc, a commercial-stage biopharmaceutical company, focuses on the rare neuroendocrine diseases. The company's lead product candidate is IMCIVREE (setmelanotide), a rare melanocortin-4 receptor for the treatment of pro-opiomelanocortin (POMC), proprotein convertase subtilisin/kexin type 1, leptin receptor (LEPR) deficiency obesity, and Bardet-Biedl and Alström syndrome.