Jefferies Financial Group Initiates Coverage on Rhythm Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:RYTM)

Stock analysts at Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on shares of Rhythm Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:RYTM) in a research note issued on Thursday, Marketbeat Ratings reports. The brokerage set a “buy” rating and a $80.00 price target on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group’s price objective would indicate a potential upside of 34.18% from the stock’s previous close.

Other analysts also recently issued research reports about the company. TD Cowen lifted their price target on Rhythm Pharmaceuticals from $55.00 to $65.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 6th. JMP Securities reaffirmed a “market outperform” rating and set a $75.00 price target on shares of Rhythm Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Monday, December 23rd. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price objective on shares of Rhythm Pharmaceuticals from $59.00 to $66.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 5th. Needham & Company LLC raised their target price on shares of Rhythm Pharmaceuticals from $55.00 to $64.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 6th. Finally, Guggenheim began coverage on shares of Rhythm Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Monday, October 21st. They set a “buy” rating and a $70.00 price target on the stock. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Rhythm Pharmaceuticals presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $68.09.

Rhythm Pharmaceuticals Price Performance

RYTM stock opened at $59.62 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.66 billion, a PE ratio of -13.77 and a beta of 2.14. Rhythm Pharmaceuticals has a fifty-two week low of $35.17 and a fifty-two week high of $68.58. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $57.72 and a 200 day moving average price of $51.08.

Rhythm Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:RYTM) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, November 5th. The company reported ($0.73) earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.80) by $0.07. Rhythm Pharmaceuticals had a negative return on equity of 367.36% and a negative net margin of 230.07%. The company had revenue of $33.20 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $32.52 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted ($0.76) EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 47.6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts expect that Rhythm Pharmaceuticals will post -4.34 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Joseph Shulman sold 13,281 shares of Rhythm Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $66.44, for a total transaction of $882,389.64. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Jennifer Kayden Lee sold 66,861 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $66.33, for a total transaction of $4,434,890.13. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 972 shares in the company, valued at approximately $64,472.76. This represents a 98.57 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 84,830 shares of company stock worth $5,622,000. Company insiders own 5.60% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Rhythm Pharmaceuticals

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Castleark Management LLC grew its holdings in Rhythm Pharmaceuticals by 1.3% in the 3rd quarter. Castleark Management LLC now owns 19,260 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,009,000 after buying an additional 250 shares in the last quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. grew its stake in shares of Rhythm Pharmaceuticals by 21.5% in the third quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 2,211 shares of the company’s stock valued at $114,000 after acquiring an additional 391 shares in the last quarter. ORG Wealth Partners LLC bought a new position in Rhythm Pharmaceuticals during the third quarter worth about $63,000. Quest Partners LLC raised its stake in Rhythm Pharmaceuticals by 513.3% in the 2nd quarter. Quest Partners LLC now owns 1,662 shares of the company’s stock worth $68,000 after purchasing an additional 1,391 shares in the last quarter. Finally, The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company boosted its holdings in Rhythm Pharmaceuticals by 3.5% in the 2nd quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 49,291 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,024,000 after purchasing an additional 1,667 shares during the period.

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.