Rhythm Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:RYTM) Earns Buy Rating from Needham & Company LLC

Rhythm Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:RYTM)‘s stock had its “buy” rating restated by research analysts at Needham & Company LLC in a research report issued on Wednesday, Benzinga reports. They presently have a $50.00 price objective on the stock. Needham & Company LLC’s price objective indicates a potential upside of 17.43% from the company’s previous close.

Several other research analysts also recently weighed in on the company. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on Rhythm Pharmaceuticals from $48.00 to $53.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 19th. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price objective on Rhythm Pharmaceuticals from $42.00 to $52.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 25th. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised Rhythm Pharmaceuticals from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their price objective for the company from $29.00 to $55.00 in a research note on Tuesday, December 19th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $47.40.

Rhythm Pharmaceuticals Trading Up 3.6 %

Rhythm Pharmaceuticals stock opened at $42.58 on Wednesday. Rhythm Pharmaceuticals has a 12 month low of $15.50 and a 12 month high of $52.57. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $43.75 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $37.54. The firm has a market cap of $2.56 billion, a PE ratio of -13.31 and a beta of 1.90.

Rhythm Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:RYTM) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, February 22nd. The company reported ($0.70) earnings per share for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of ($0.70). The business had revenue of $24.23 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $25.38 million. Rhythm Pharmaceuticals had a negative return on equity of 96.02% and a negative net margin of 238.50%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 175.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted ($0.75) EPS. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Rhythm Pharmaceuticals will post -4.03 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Rhythm Pharmaceuticals

In other Rhythm Pharmaceuticals news, CFO Hunter C. Smith sold 1,209 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $51.38, for a total value of $62,118.42. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 80,413 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,131,619.94. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In related news, insider Joseph Shulman sold 71,774 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $50.38, for a total transaction of $3,615,974.12. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 2,686 shares in the company, valued at approximately $135,320.68. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Hunter C. Smith sold 1,209 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $51.38, for a total value of $62,118.42. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 80,413 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,131,619.94. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 172,069 shares of company stock worth $7,626,355 in the last three months. 4.70% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Rhythm Pharmaceuticals

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Barclays PLC boosted its holdings in Rhythm Pharmaceuticals by 85.3% during the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 241,261 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,531,000 after acquiring an additional 111,033 shares during the period. Silverarc Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in Rhythm Pharmaceuticals by 124.3% during the 3rd quarter. Silverarc Capital Management LLC now owns 260,537 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,973,000 after acquiring an additional 144,369 shares during the period. Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. acquired a new stake in Rhythm Pharmaceuticals in the 3rd quarter valued at about $1,004,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its position in Rhythm Pharmaceuticals by 9.8% in the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 384,748 shares of the company’s stock valued at $8,820,000 after purchasing an additional 34,189 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Victory Capital Management Inc. acquired a new stake in Rhythm Pharmaceuticals in the 3rd quarter valued at about $460,000.

About Rhythm Pharmaceuticals

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.