Rhythm Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:RYTM) Given New $148.00 Price Target at Needham & Company LLC

Rhythm Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:RYTM) had its price objective hoisted by Needham & Company LLC from $145.00 to $148.00 in a report issued on Friday,Benzinga reports. Needham & Company LLC currently has a buy rating on the stock.

Several other research analysts have also weighed in on the company. JMP Securities upped their target price on Rhythm Pharmaceuticals from $135.00 to $142.00 and gave the stock a “market outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, September 25th. Oppenheimer cut Rhythm Pharmaceuticals from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 5th. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $150.00 price objective on shares of Rhythm Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Thursday, December 11th. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Rhythm Pharmaceuticals from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Saturday, November 8th. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group increased their price target on shares of Rhythm Pharmaceuticals from $114.00 to $141.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, December 12th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have given a Buy rating, one has issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $130.00.

Rhythm Pharmaceuticals Stock Performance

Rhythm Pharmaceuticals stock opened at $101.02 on Friday. Rhythm Pharmaceuticals has a twelve month low of $45.90 and a twelve month high of $122.20. The firm has a market cap of $6.74 billion, a PE ratio of -32.59 and a beta of 2.00. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $105.54 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $98.24.

Rhythm Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:RYTM) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, November 4th. The company reported ($0.82) EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.72) by ($0.10). Rhythm Pharmaceuticals had a negative net margin of 110.32% and a negative return on equity of 433.21%. The company had revenue of $51.30 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $50.71 million. Equities analysts anticipate that Rhythm Pharmaceuticals will post -4.32 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Pamela J. Cramer sold 3,350 shares of Rhythm Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $111.00, for a total value of $371,850.00. Following the transaction, the insider owned 20,814 shares in the company, valued at $2,310,354. This trade represents a 13.86% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, insider Joseph Shulman sold 14,437 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, October 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $112.03, for a total transaction of $1,617,377.11. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 8,509 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $953,263.27. This represents a 62.92% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last three months, insiders sold 30,350 shares of company stock worth $3,436,340. Insiders own 6.10% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Rhythm Pharmaceuticals

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in Rhythm Pharmaceuticals by 97.2% in the 3rd quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 286 shares of the company’s stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 141 shares during the last quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Rhythm Pharmaceuticals by 1,110.3% in the third quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 351 shares of the company’s stock valued at $35,000 after acquiring an additional 322 shares during the period. Optiver Holding B.V. grew its stake in shares of Rhythm Pharmaceuticals by 65.2% in the third quarter. Optiver Holding B.V. now owns 365 shares of the company’s stock worth $37,000 after acquiring an additional 144 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its stake in shares of Rhythm Pharmaceuticals by 48.6% in the fourth quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 361 shares of the company’s stock worth $39,000 after acquiring an additional 118 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Osaic Holdings Inc. increased its position in Rhythm Pharmaceuticals by 65.9% during the second quarter. Osaic Holdings Inc. now owns 979 shares of the company’s stock worth $62,000 after acquiring an additional 389 shares during the period.

Rhythm Pharmaceuticals Company Profile

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.