Zweig DiMenna Associates LLC Makes New Investment in Rhythm Pharmaceuticals, Inc. $RYTM

Zweig DiMenna Associates LLC acquired a new position in shares of Rhythm Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:RYTM) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 81,600 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,734,000.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in RYTM. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in 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 acquiring an additional 1,407,313 shares during the last quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. grew its holdings in Rhythm Pharmaceuticals by 1,493.8% during the 3rd quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 979,682 shares of the company’s stock worth $98,938,000 after acquiring an additional 918,212 shares during the last quarter. Capital Research Global Investors bought a new stake in Rhythm Pharmaceuticals during the 3rd quarter worth about $60,417,000. Jennison Associates LLC boosted its stake in shares of Rhythm Pharmaceuticals by 123.2% in the 4th quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 918,567 shares of the company’s stock valued at $98,323,000 after purchasing an additional 507,017 shares during the last quarter. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its stake in shares of Rhythm Pharmaceuticals by 51.6% in the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 1,188,069 shares of the company’s stock valued at $119,983,000 after purchasing an additional 404,510 shares during the last quarter.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

RYTM has been the topic of several recent research reports. Guggenheim raised their target price on shares of Rhythm Pharmaceuticals from $140.00 to $143.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 27th. HC Wainwright reduced their target price on shares of Rhythm Pharmaceuticals from $110.00 to $100.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, March 18th. Bank of America reduced their target price on shares of Rhythm Pharmaceuticals from $145.00 to $139.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, March 17th. Canaccord Genuity Group raised their target price on shares of Rhythm Pharmaceuticals from $140.00 to $143.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 7th. Finally, Citigroup reduced their target price on shares of Rhythm Pharmaceuticals from $136.00 to $131.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, March 17th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have given a Buy rating, two have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Rhythm Pharmaceuticals has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $131.81.

Rhythm Pharmaceuticals Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:RYTM opened at $88.32 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $6.05 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -28.22 and a beta of 1.94. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $87.42 and its 200 day simple moving average is $97.24. Rhythm Pharmaceuticals, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $60.06 and a fifty-two week high of $122.20.

Rhythm Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:RYTM) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 5th. The company reported ($0.83) earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.86) by $0.03. The business had revenue of $60.11 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $55.78 million. Rhythm Pharmaceuticals had a negative net margin of 93.33% and a negative return on equity of 203.25%. Rhythm Pharmaceuticals’s revenue for the quarter was up 83.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company posted ($0.81) EPS. Equities research analysts expect that Rhythm Pharmaceuticals, Inc. will post -3.18 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Rhythm Pharmaceuticals

In related news, CAO Christopher Paul German sold 5,614 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $89.56, for a total value of $502,789.84. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer directly owned 160 shares in the company, valued at $14,329.60. This trade represents a 97.23% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 5.90% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Rhythm Pharmaceuticals 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.