Hunter Smith Sells 62,774 Shares of Rhythm Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:RYTM) Stock

Rhythm Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:RYTM) CFO Hunter Smith sold 62,774 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $105.46, for a total transaction of $6,620,146.04. Following the sale, the chief financial officer owned 114,024 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $12,024,971.04. The trade was a 35.51% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan.

Rhythm Pharmaceuticals Price Performance

NASDAQ:RYTM opened at $105.42 on Thursday. The firm has a market capitalization of $7.22 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -33.90 and a beta of 1.97. The company’s 50-day moving average is $109.80 and its two-hundred day moving average is $97.03. Rhythm Pharmaceuticals, Inc. has a 1-year low of $74.50 and a 1-year high of $122.20.

Rhythm Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:RYTM) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 4th. The company reported ($0.73) earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.81) by $0.08. The business had revenue of $71.25 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $67.66 million. Rhythm Pharmaceuticals had a negative net margin of 85.59% and a negative return on equity of 159.87%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 46.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted ($0.75) EPS. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Rhythm Pharmaceuticals, Inc. will post -2.87 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

RYTM has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on Rhythm Pharmaceuticals from $145.00 to $146.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, August 7th. National Bank Financial set a $160.00 target price on shares of Rhythm Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Wednesday, August 5th. TD Cowen reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Rhythm Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Wednesday, June 17th. Citigroup reissued a “market outperform” rating on shares of Rhythm Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Wednesday, August 5th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Rhythm Pharmaceuticals from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, May 9th. Fifteen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $141.12.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Rhythm Pharmaceuticals

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al purchased a new position in Rhythm Pharmaceuticals in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $411,000. California State Teachers Retirement System increased its position in shares of Rhythm Pharmaceuticals by 10,703.5% during the second quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 7,109,362 shares of the company’s stock worth $789,352,000 after acquiring an additional 7,043,556 shares during the period. Braidwell LP raised its stake in shares of Rhythm Pharmaceuticals by 22.7% in the second quarter. Braidwell LP now owns 381,128 shares of the company’s stock valued at $42,317,000 after acquiring an additional 70,500 shares in the last quarter. Nykredit A S acquired a new stake in shares of Rhythm Pharmaceuticals in the second quarter valued at $280,000. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its holdings in Rhythm Pharmaceuticals by 78.5% in the second quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 488,747 shares of the company’s stock valued at $54,266,000 after purchasing an additional 214,990 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.