Rhythm Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:RYTM) CAO Sells $502,789.84 in Stock

Rhythm Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:RYTM) CAO Christopher Paul German sold 5,614 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $89.56, for a total value of $502,789.84. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer owned 160 shares in the company, valued at approximately $14,329.60. The trade was a 97.23% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website.

Rhythm Pharmaceuticals Trading Up 2.3%

Shares of Rhythm Pharmaceuticals stock traded up $2.06 on Friday, hitting $93.52. 629,423 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 707,953. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $102.24 and its 200-day moving average price is $103.34. The company has a market cap of $6.39 billion, a PE ratio of -30.07 and a beta of 2.06. Rhythm Pharmaceuticals, Inc. has a 52 week low of $45.90 and a 52 week high of $122.20.

Rhythm Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:RYTM) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 26th. The company reported ($0.73) EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.79) by $0.06. Rhythm Pharmaceuticals had a negative return on equity of 266.56% and a negative net margin of 103.57%.The firm had revenue of $57.25 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $56.16 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted ($0.72) earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 36.9% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Rhythm Pharmaceuticals, Inc. will post -4.32 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms recently issued reports on RYTM. Citigroup reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Rhythm Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Friday, December 12th. Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $125.00 target price on shares of Rhythm Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Tuesday. Royal Bank Of Canada assumed coverage on Rhythm Pharmaceuticals in a report on Wednesday, February 18th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $145.00 price objective on the stock. Canaccord Genuity Group lowered their target price on shares of Rhythm Pharmaceuticals from $141.00 to $140.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Monday. Finally, Wall Street Zen cut Rhythm Pharmaceuticals from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Saturday, November 8th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have given a Buy rating, two have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $132.07.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Rhythm Pharmaceuticals

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Rhythm Pharmaceuticals by 39.2% during the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 4,996,427 shares of the company’s stock worth $504,589,000 after buying an additional 1,407,313 shares during the last quarter. RA Capital Management L.P. grew its holdings in Rhythm Pharmaceuticals by 17.3% in the 4th quarter. RA Capital Management L.P. now owns 6,666,837 shares of the company’s stock valued at $713,618,000 after buying an additional 985,478 shares during the period. Alliancebernstein L.P. increased its position in Rhythm Pharmaceuticals by 1,493.8% during the third quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 979,682 shares of the company’s stock worth $98,938,000 after purchasing an additional 918,212 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its holdings in shares of Rhythm Pharmaceuticals by 445.5% during the 2nd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 783,559 shares of the company’s stock worth $49,513,000 after buying an additional 639,919 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Capital Research Global Investors purchased a new position in Rhythm Pharmaceuticals in the third quarter valued at approximately $60,417,000.

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.