Rhythm Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:RYTM) Earns Buy Rating from Analysts at Jefferies Financial Group

Jefferies Financial Group assumed coverage on shares of Rhythm Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:RYTM) in a report issued on Thursday, Marketbeat Ratings reports. The brokerage issued a buy rating and a $80.00 target price on the stock.

RYTM has been the subject of several other reports. Needham & Company LLC boosted their price objective on Rhythm Pharmaceuticals from $55.00 to $64.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 6th. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price target on Rhythm Pharmaceuticals from $59.00 to $66.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 5th. HC Wainwright restated a “buy” rating and issued a $69.00 price target on shares of Rhythm Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Monday, December 23rd. Canaccord Genuity Group restated a “buy” rating and issued a $80.00 target price on shares of Rhythm Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Tuesday, November 19th. Finally, Bank of America increased their price target on Rhythm Pharmaceuticals from $48.00 to $52.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, October 14th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $68.09.

Rhythm Pharmaceuticals Price Performance

NASDAQ:RYTM opened at $60.07 on Thursday. Rhythm Pharmaceuticals has a 1-year low of $35.17 and a 1-year high of $68.58. The stock has a market cap of $3.69 billion, a P/E ratio of -13.87 and a beta of 2.14. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $57.50 and a two-hundred day moving average of $50.95.

Rhythm Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:RYTM) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, November 5th. The company reported ($0.73) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.80) by $0.07. The company had revenue of $33.20 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $32.52 million. Rhythm Pharmaceuticals had a negative return on equity of 367.36% and a negative net margin of 230.07%. Rhythm Pharmaceuticals’s revenue for the quarter was up 47.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned ($0.76) EPS. As a group, equities analysts expect that Rhythm Pharmaceuticals will post -4.34 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity at Rhythm Pharmaceuticals

In related news, insider Joseph Shulman sold 13,281 shares of Rhythm Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $66.44, for a total transaction of $882,389.64. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Pamela J. Cramer sold 4,688 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, November 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $65.00, for a total transaction of $304,720.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 13,500 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $877,500. The trade was a 25.78 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 84,830 shares of company stock worth $5,622,000 in the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 5.60% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Rhythm Pharmaceuticals

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Rhythm Pharmaceuticals by 241.9% during the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 32,586 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,707,000 after purchasing an additional 23,054 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. increased its stake in Rhythm Pharmaceuticals by 11.5% in the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 259,416 shares of the company’s stock worth $13,033,000 after purchasing an additional 26,739 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in Rhythm Pharmaceuticals by 0.3% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,256,188 shares of the company’s stock worth $65,824,000 after buying an additional 3,499 shares during the period. Frazier Life Sciences Management L.P. lifted its stake in Rhythm Pharmaceuticals by 1.9% during the third quarter. Frazier Life Sciences Management L.P. now owns 2,416,952 shares of the company’s stock valued at $126,624,000 after buying an additional 45,648 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Barclays PLC lifted its stake in Rhythm Pharmaceuticals by 79.6% during the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 106,397 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,574,000 after buying an additional 47,166 shares in the last quarter.

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.