Rhythm Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:RYTM) Shares Gap Up – Here’s What Happened

Rhythm Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:RYTM)’s share price gapped up before the market opened on Friday . The stock had previously closed at $90.31, but opened at $96.71. Rhythm Pharmaceuticals shares last traded at $93.5830, with a volume of 1,344,274 shares trading hands.

Key Headlines Impacting Rhythm Pharmaceuticals

Here are the key news stories impacting Rhythm Pharmaceuticals this week:

• Positive Sentiment: FDA approved IMCIVREE (setmelanotide) for acquired hypothalamic obesity — the first and only therapy for this rare, treatment‑naïve patient group, creating a clear commercial upside and expanding the drug’s labeled indications. This approval is the main near‑term catalyst supporting the stock. Rhythm Announces FDA Approval of IMCIVREE
• Positive Sentiment: Company management and analysts discussed the new approval in a recent transcript, providing additional color on the patient population, potential launch timing and commercial considerations — supporting investor confidence in revenue upside from the new indication. RYTM Discusses FDA Approval Transcript
• Positive Sentiment: Some brokers have raised or set elevated price targets that imply further upside vs. pre‑news levels, reflecting bullish views on IMCIVREE’s expanded market potential. Brokerages Set RYTM PT at $133.19
• Neutral Sentiment: Valuation pieces are examining RYTM after recent volatility — useful context for longer‑term investors but not an immediate catalyst. These remind investors the stock remains volatile (beta ~2.06) and has wide analyst dispersion. A Look At Rhythm Pharmaceuticals Valuation
• Negative Sentiment: HC Wainwright cut near‑term EPS and lowered its FY2027 outlook and price objective (now $100), trimming Q1–Q4 EPS estimates across 2027 — this reduces short‑term earnings expectations and may cap upside despite the approval. HC Wainwright Lowers RYTM Price Target to $100
• Negative Sentiment: Multiple other brokers published pessimistic forecasts or lowered expectations (Bank of America, RBC, Citizens Jmp, Needham), adding selling pressure by signaling more conservative revenue/profit trajectories or valuation concerns. Bank of America Issues Pessimistic Forecast

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have issued reports on RYTM shares. Jefferies Financial Group reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $125.00 price target on shares of Rhythm Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Tuesday, March 3rd. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on shares of Rhythm Pharmaceuticals from $136.00 to $143.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 12th. Needham & Company LLC lowered their price objective on shares of Rhythm Pharmaceuticals from $139.00 to $130.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Rhythm Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Thursday, January 22nd. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group increased their target price on shares of Rhythm Pharmaceuticals from $141.00 to $157.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, December 12th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have assigned a Buy rating, two have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $131.13.

Rhythm Pharmaceuticals Stock Performance

The business has a 50 day moving average of $99.31 and a two-hundred day moving average of $102.60. The firm has a market capitalization of $6.24 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -29.46 and a beta of 2.06.

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Rhythm Pharmaceuticals news, CFO Hunter C. Smith sold 4,385 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 19th. The shares were 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 in the company, valued at approximately $11,190,445.12. This represents a 3.82% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CAO Christopher Paul German sold 5,614 shares of Rhythm Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $89.56, for a total transaction of $502,789.84. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer owned 160 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $14,329.60. This represents a 97.23% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 27,267 shares of company stock worth $2,719,955. 6.10% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Rhythm Pharmaceuticals

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