EFG International AG Invests $3.73 Million in Rhythm Pharmaceuticals, Inc. $RYTM

EFG International AG purchased a new position in Rhythm Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:RYTM) during the 2nd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm purchased 33,577 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,728,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in RYTM. Primecap Management Co. CA bought a new stake in Rhythm Pharmaceuticals in the second quarter worth $351,838,000. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board bought a new position in shares of Rhythm Pharmaceuticals during the second quarter valued at $5,263,000. Nicholas Investment Partners LP bought a new position in shares of Rhythm Pharmaceuticals during the second quarter valued at $15,463,000. Legal & General Group Plc purchased a new position in shares of Rhythm Pharmaceuticals in the 2nd quarter worth about $4,875,000. Finally, The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company purchased a new position in shares of Rhythm Pharmaceuticals in the 2nd quarter worth about $6,348,000.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

RYTM has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Citigroup reaffirmed a “market outperform” rating on shares of Rhythm Pharmaceuticals in a report on Wednesday, August 5th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on shares of Rhythm Pharmaceuticals from $145.00 to $146.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, August 7th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Rhythm Pharmaceuticals from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, May 9th. Weiss Ratings restated a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Rhythm Pharmaceuticals in a report on Friday, July 17th. Finally, National Bank Financial set a $160.00 price objective on Rhythm Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Wednesday, August 5th. Fifteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $142.44.

Rhythm Pharmaceuticals Stock Performance

RYTM opened at $111.87 on Thursday. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $109.26 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $96.82. The stock has a market capitalization of $7.67 billion, a P/E ratio of -35.97 and a beta of 1.92. Rhythm Pharmaceuticals, Inc. has a 52-week low of $74.50 and a 52-week high of $122.20.

Rhythm Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:RYTM) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 4th. The company reported ($0.73) earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.81) by $0.08. Rhythm Pharmaceuticals had a negative net margin of 85.59% and a negative return on equity of 159.87%. The firm had revenue of $71.25 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $67.66 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned ($0.75) earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 46.9% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts forecast that Rhythm Pharmaceuticals, Inc. will post -2.82 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Rhythm Pharmaceuticals

In other news, Director Lynn A. Tetrault sold 37,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, June 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $100.32, for a total transaction of $3,711,840.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 7,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $702,240. This represents a 84.09% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, insider Alastair Garfield sold 7,763 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $117.57, for a total value of $912,695.91. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 2,295 shares in the company, valued at $269,823.15. The trade was a 77.18% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 182,676 shares of company stock worth $20,754,691. 5.90% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

About Rhythm Pharmaceuticals

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.