First Light Asset Management LLC Decreases Holdings in Rhythm Pharmaceuticals, Inc. $RYTM

First Light Asset Management LLC lessened its stake in Rhythm Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:RYTM) by 70.5% during the first quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 87,181 shares of the company’s stock after selling 208,663 shares during the period. First Light Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Rhythm Pharmaceuticals were worth $7,582,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. M&T Bank Corp purchased a new stake in shares of Rhythm Pharmaceuticals during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $9,202,000. Jennison Associates LLC boosted its stake in Rhythm Pharmaceuticals by 123.2% during the fourth quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 918,567 shares of the company’s stock valued at $98,323,000 after buying an additional 507,017 shares during the period. Zweig DiMenna Associates LLC purchased a new position in shares of Rhythm Pharmaceuticals during the fourth quarter worth about $8,734,000. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC grew its stake in Rhythm Pharmaceuticals by 45.5% in the 4th quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC now owns 24,334 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,721,000 after buying an additional 7,613 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Pictet Asset Management Holding SA grew its position in Rhythm Pharmaceuticals by 8.5% in the first quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA now owns 667,046 shares of the company’s stock worth $57,329,000 after acquiring an additional 52,383 shares in the last quarter.

Rhythm Pharmaceuticals Price Performance

RYTM opened at $102.10 on Monday. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $98.91 and a 200-day moving average price of $95.76. The stock has a market capitalization of $7.00 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -32.62 and a beta of 1.88. Rhythm Pharmaceuticals, Inc. has a twelve month low of $74.50 and a twelve month high of $122.20.

Rhythm Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:RYTM) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 5th. The company reported ($0.83) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.86) by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $60.11 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $55.78 million. Rhythm Pharmaceuticals had a negative return on equity of 203.25% and a negative net margin of 93.33%.The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 83.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business posted ($0.81) EPS. As a group, analysts expect that Rhythm Pharmaceuticals, Inc. will post -3.1 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Rhythm Pharmaceuticals

In other Rhythm Pharmaceuticals news, Director Lynn A. Tetrault sold 37,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $100.32, for a total value of $3,711,840.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 7,000 shares in the company, valued at $702,240. This represents a 84.09% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. 5.90% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have commented on RYTM. TD Cowen reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Rhythm Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Wednesday, June 17th. Citigroup reaffirmed a “market outperform” rating on shares of Rhythm Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Wednesday, June 3rd. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on shares of Rhythm Pharmaceuticals from $144.00 to $155.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, June 15th. Canaccord Genuity Group lifted their price target on Rhythm Pharmaceuticals from $143.00 to $151.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 16th. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Rhythm Pharmaceuticals in a report on Friday, July 17th. Fourteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $138.29.

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.