Rhythm Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:RYTM) Shares Gap Up After Analyst Upgrade

Rhythm Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:RYTM)’s stock price gapped up before the market opened on Monday after Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on the stock from $80.00 to $91.00. The stock had previously closed at $46.95, but opened at $48.33. Wells Fargo & Company currently has an overweight rating on the stock. Rhythm Pharmaceuticals shares last traded at $46.63, with a volume of 609,459 shares changing hands.

A number of other research firms have also recently commented on RYTM. Bank of America raised Rhythm Pharmaceuticals from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $63.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Monday. Morgan Stanley reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $72.00 target price on shares of Rhythm Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Friday, March 7th. Stifel Nicolaus initiated coverage on shares of Rhythm Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. They set a “buy” rating and a $78.00 target price for the company. Canaccord Genuity Group boosted their price target on Rhythm Pharmaceuticals from $80.00 to $81.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, February 27th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group initiated coverage on shares of Rhythm Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Thursday, January 2nd. They issued a “buy” rating and a $80.00 price objective for the company. Thirteen research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Rhythm Pharmaceuticals presently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $73.31.

Insider Activity at Rhythm Pharmaceuticals

In other Rhythm Pharmaceuticals news, EVP Yann Mazabraud sold 75,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $51.48, for a total transaction of $3,861,000.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 40,370 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,078,247.60. This represents a 65.01 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Joseph Shulman sold 1,281 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $59.43, for a total transaction of $76,129.83. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 2,657 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $157,905.51. This represents a 32.53 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 108,131 shares of company stock valued at $5,781,098 in the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 5.60% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Janus Henderson Group PLC raised its position in Rhythm Pharmaceuticals by 103.9% during the 4th quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 1,219,554 shares of the company’s stock worth $68,309,000 after buying an additional 621,432 shares during the last quarter. Marshall Wace LLP raised its holdings in shares of Rhythm Pharmaceuticals by 70.4% during the fourth quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 692,803 shares of the company’s stock worth $38,783,000 after purchasing an additional 286,188 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Rhythm Pharmaceuticals during the 4th quarter valued at about $11,512,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its holdings in Rhythm Pharmaceuticals by 224.3% in the fourth quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 264,585 shares of the company’s stock valued at $14,811,000 after acquiring an additional 182,993 shares during the period. Finally, Stempoint Capital LP boosted its position in Rhythm Pharmaceuticals by 404.1% in the 4th quarter. Stempoint Capital LP now owns 208,016 shares of the company’s stock worth $11,645,000 after purchasing an additional 166,748 shares in the last quarter.

Rhythm Pharmaceuticals Stock Performance

The business’s 50 day moving average price is $54.55 and its 200 day moving average price is $55.09. The firm has a market cap of $3.47 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -12.69 and a beta of 2.32.

Rhythm Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:RYTM) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 26th. The company reported ($0.72) EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.69) by ($0.03). The business had revenue of $41.83 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $38.48 million. Rhythm Pharmaceuticals had a negative net margin of 230.07% and a negative return on equity of 367.36%. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Rhythm Pharmaceuticals, Inc. will post -4.32 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Rhythm Pharmaceuticals Company Profile

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.