Needham & Company LLC Reaffirms Buy Rating for Rhythm Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:RYTM)

Rhythm Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:RYTM - Get Free Report)'s stock had its "buy" rating reissued by research analysts at Needham & Company LLC in a report released on Wednesday, Benzinga reports. They presently have a $55.00 price target on the stock. Needham & Company LLC's target price indicates a potential upside of 11.02% from the stock's previous close.

Other equities research analysts also recently issued research reports about the stock. JMP Securities started coverage on shares of Rhythm Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Tuesday, September 17th. They issued an "outperform" rating and a $64.00 price objective for the company. Bank of America lifted their target price on shares of Rhythm Pharmaceuticals from $48.00 to $52.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Monday, October 14th. Guggenheim assumed coverage on shares of Rhythm Pharmaceuticals in a report on Monday, October 21st. They issued a "buy" rating and a $70.00 price target on the stock. Finally, HC Wainwright reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $64.00 price target on shares of Rhythm Pharmaceuticals in a report on Friday, October 25th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Rhythm Pharmaceuticals currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $60.33.

Rhythm Pharmaceuticals Stock Performance

RYTM remained flat at $49.54 during trading hours on Wednesday. The company had a trading volume of 164,688 shares, compared to its average volume of 528,376. The business has a fifty day moving average of $49.48 and a 200-day moving average of $44.90. Rhythm Pharmaceuticals has a 12-month low of $22.41 and a 12-month high of $55.64. The stock has a market cap of $3.02 billion, a PE ratio of -10.70 and a beta of 2.07.

Rhythm Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:RYTM - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 6th. The company reported ($0.55) earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.71) by $0.16. The business had revenue of $29.08 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $28.79 million. Rhythm Pharmaceuticals had a negative return on equity of 221.65% and a negative net margin of 254.88%. The company's revenue was up 51.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned ($0.82) earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Rhythm Pharmaceuticals will post -4.45 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Rhythm Pharmaceuticals

In other news, Director Jennifer L. Good sold 31,751 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $52.40, for a total value of $1,663,752.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 3,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $157,200. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In related news, insider Pamela J. Cramer sold 3,200 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $50.01, for a total transaction of $160,032.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 13,500 shares of the company's stock, valued at $675,135. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Director Jennifer L. Good sold 31,751 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $52.40, for a total transaction of $1,663,752.40. Following the transaction, the director now owns 3,000 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $157,200. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 109,857 shares of company stock valued at $5,325,446 in the last ninety days. Company insiders own 5.60% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in RYTM. Perceptive Advisors LLC raised its position in Rhythm Pharmaceuticals by 5.4% during the second quarter. Perceptive Advisors LLC now owns 3,446,579 shares of the company's stock worth $141,517,000 after acquiring an additional 178,000 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Rhythm Pharmaceuticals by 2.4% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 3,304,146 shares of the company's stock valued at $143,169,000 after acquiring an additional 77,208 shares in the last quarter. Frazier Life Sciences Management L.P. grew its stake in shares of Rhythm Pharmaceuticals by 8.3% in the second quarter. Frazier Life Sciences Management L.P. now owns 2,371,304 shares of the company's stock valued at $97,366,000 after acquiring an additional 181,125 shares in the last quarter. Driehaus Capital Management LLC grew its stake in Rhythm Pharmaceuticals by 38.2% during the second quarter. Driehaus Capital Management LLC now owns 1,182,370 shares of the company's stock worth $48,548,000 after buying an additional 326,865 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund grew its stake in Rhythm Pharmaceuticals by 32.4% during the second quarter. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund now owns 967,243 shares of the company's stock worth $39,715,000 after buying an additional 236,600 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.