Rhythm Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:RYTM) Price Target Lowered to $139.00 at Needham & Company LLC

Rhythm Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:RYTM) had its price target lowered by equities research analysts at Needham & Company LLC from $148.00 to $139.00 in a report released on Thursday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a “buy” rating on the stock. Needham & Company LLC’s price target suggests a potential upside of 41.74% from the company’s previous close.

Several other brokerages also recently issued reports on RYTM. Royal Bank Of Canada initiated coverage on shares of Rhythm Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Wednesday, February 18th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $145.00 price objective on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus set a $131.00 price target on shares of Rhythm Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Thursday. Weiss Ratings restated a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Rhythm Pharmaceuticals in a report on Thursday, January 22nd. Canaccord Genuity Group increased their target price on shares of Rhythm Pharmaceuticals from $114.00 to $141.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, December 12th. Finally, Citizens Jmp lifted their target price on Rhythm Pharmaceuticals from $141.00 to $167.00 and gave the stock a “market outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, December 12th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have given a Buy rating, two have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Rhythm Pharmaceuticals has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $133.71.

Rhythm Pharmaceuticals Stock Performance

Rhythm Pharmaceuticals stock opened at $98.07 on Thursday. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $104.28 and its 200-day simple moving average is $103.50. The firm has a market capitalization of $6.55 billion, a PE ratio of -31.64 and a beta of 2.00. Rhythm Pharmaceuticals has a 52 week low of $45.90 and a 52 week high of $122.20.

Rhythm Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:RYTM) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, February 26th. The company reported ($0.73) earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.79) by $0.06. The firm had revenue of $57.25 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $56.16 million. Rhythm Pharmaceuticals had a negative return on equity of 433.21% and a negative net margin of 110.32%.The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 36.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned ($0.72) EPS. Research analysts forecast that Rhythm Pharmaceuticals will post -4.32 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Pamela J. Cramer sold 3,350 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $111.00, for a total value of $371,850.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 20,814 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,310,354. This represents a 13.86% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CFO Hunter C. Smith sold 4,385 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $101.26, for a total transaction of $444,025.10. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 110,512 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,190,445.12. This represents a 3.82% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 25,003 shares of company stock worth $2,589,015. 6.10% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Rhythm Pharmaceuticals

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of RYTM. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Rhythm Pharmaceuticals by 956.9% during the third quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 13,254 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,339,000 after buying an additional 12,000 shares during the last quarter. EFG Asset Management North America Corp. acquired a new stake in Rhythm Pharmaceuticals during the 3rd quarter worth $2,047,000. Penserra Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in Rhythm Pharmaceuticals during the 3rd quarter worth $3,073,000. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Rhythm Pharmaceuticals in the 2nd quarter valued at $13,105,000. Finally, Hillsdale Investment Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of Rhythm Pharmaceuticals in the 3rd quarter worth $4,302,000.

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.