HC Wainwright Begins Coverage on Rhythm Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:RYTM)

HC Wainwright assumed coverage on shares of Rhythm Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:RYTM - Free Report) in a research report report published on Wednesday morning, MarketBeat reports. The firm issued a buy rating and a $64.00 target price on the stock.

Other equities research analysts have also recently issued research reports about the company. Needham & Company LLC restated a buy rating and set a $55.00 price objective on shares of Rhythm Pharmaceuticals in a report on Wednesday, August 7th. JMP Securities assumed coverage on shares of Rhythm Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Tuesday. They issued an outperform rating and a $64.00 price target for the company. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of $57.88.

Rhythm Pharmaceuticals Price Performance

NASDAQ:RYTM traded up $0.47 on Wednesday, hitting $53.64. 807,979 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 561,766. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $47.92 and a 200-day moving average price of $43.00. The company has a market cap of $3.27 billion, a P/E ratio of -11.59 and a beta of 2.07. Rhythm Pharmaceuticals has a 52 week low of $20.97 and a 52 week high of $54.88.

Rhythm Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:RYTM - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, August 6th. The company reported ($0.55) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.71) by $0.16. The company had revenue of $29.08 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $28.79 million. Rhythm Pharmaceuticals had a negative net margin of 254.88% and a negative return on equity of 221.65%. Rhythm Pharmaceuticals's quarterly revenue was up 51.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned ($0.82) EPS. On average, research analysts expect that Rhythm Pharmaceuticals will post -4.44 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Rhythm Pharmaceuticals

In related news, Director Lynn A. Tetrault sold 17,501 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $49.65, for a total value of $868,924.65. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 3,000 shares of the company's stock, valued at $148,950. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In other Rhythm Pharmaceuticals news, insider Pamela J. Cramer sold 4,099 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $50.03, for a total transaction of $205,072.97. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 13,500 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $675,405. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Lynn A. Tetrault sold 17,501 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $49.65, for a total value of $868,924.65. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 3,000 shares of the company's stock, valued at $148,950. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 95,282 shares of company stock valued at $4,550,639. Corporate insiders own 5.60% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Rhythm Pharmaceuticals

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Perceptive Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Rhythm Pharmaceuticals by 5.4% in the 2nd quarter. Perceptive Advisors LLC now owns 3,446,579 shares of the company's stock valued at $141,517,000 after purchasing an additional 178,000 shares during the last quarter. Algert Global LLC lifted its stake in shares of Rhythm Pharmaceuticals by 50.8% in the 2nd quarter. Algert Global LLC now owns 104,132 shares of the company's stock valued at $4,276,000 after purchasing an additional 35,084 shares during the period. Frazier Life Sciences Management L.P. grew its stake in Rhythm Pharmaceuticals by 8.3% during the second quarter. Frazier Life Sciences Management L.P. now owns 2,371,304 shares of the company's stock worth $97,366,000 after purchasing an additional 181,125 shares during the period. Driehaus Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in Rhythm Pharmaceuticals by 38.2% in the second quarter. Driehaus Capital Management LLC now owns 1,182,370 shares of the company's stock worth $48,548,000 after purchasing an additional 326,865 shares in the last quarter. Finally, The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company boosted its holdings in shares of Rhythm Pharmaceuticals by 3.5% during the 2nd quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 49,291 shares of the company's stock worth $2,024,000 after buying an additional 1,667 shares in the last quarter.

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.