Rhythm Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:RYTM) Stock Price Down 5.3% on Insider Selling

Shares of Rhythm Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:RYTM) fell 5.3% during mid-day trading on Tuesday following insider selling activity. The company traded as low as $97.67 and last traded at $97.0350. Approximately 54,752 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 93% from the average daily volume of 750,485 shares. The stock had previously closed at $102.44.

Specifically, CEO David Meeker sold 50,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $102.67, for a total transaction of $5,133,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 239,258 shares in the company, valued at $24,564,618.86. This represents a 17.29% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on RYTM. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft started coverage on shares of Rhythm Pharmaceuticals in a report on Friday, August 28th. They set a “hold” rating and a $120.00 price target for the company. Leerink Partners started coverage on Rhythm Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Monday. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $133.00 price objective for the company. Canaccord Genuity Group set a $154.00 price target on shares of Rhythm Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Wednesday, August 5th. Citizens Jmp raised their target price on shares of Rhythm Pharmaceuticals from $155.00 to $160.00 and gave the company a “market outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 5th. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Rhythm Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Friday, July 17th. Sixteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $140.67.

Rhythm Pharmaceuticals Trading Down 4.9%

The company has a market cap of $6.68 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -31.31 and a beta of 1.97. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $108.46 and its 200 day moving average price is $97.21.

Rhythm Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:RYTM) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 4th. The company reported ($0.73) earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.81) by $0.08. The company had revenue of $71.25 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $67.66 million. Rhythm Pharmaceuticals had a negative return on equity of 159.87% and a negative net margin of 85.59%.The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 46.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned ($0.75) EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that Rhythm Pharmaceuticals, Inc. will post -2.86 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Rhythm Pharmaceuticals

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. California State Teachers Retirement System grew its position in shares of Rhythm Pharmaceuticals by 10,703.5% in the second quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 7,109,362 shares of the company’s stock valued at $789,352,000 after purchasing an additional 7,043,556 shares during the period. BlackRock Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Rhythm Pharmaceuticals during the 2nd quarter worth about $683,601,000. Primecap Management Co. CA purchased a new stake in shares of Rhythm Pharmaceuticals during the 2nd quarter worth about $351,838,000. Jupiter Topco LLC purchased a new stake in Rhythm Pharmaceuticals during the 2nd quarter worth $102,752,000. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE raised its position in Rhythm Pharmaceuticals by 180.0% in the first quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 628,667 shares of the company’s stock valued at $54,675,000 after purchasing an additional 404,183 shares during the period.

About Rhythm Pharmaceuticals

Rhythm Pharmaceuticals, Inc is a biopharmaceutical company focused on developing and commercializing therapies for rare genetic diseases of obesity and related metabolic disorders. The company’s research is centered on the melanocortin-4 receptor (MC4R) pathway, which plays an important role in regulating hunger and energy balance.

Rhythm’s primary product is IMCIVREE (setmelanotide), an MC4R agonist. In the United States, IMCIVREE is approved for chronic weight management in adults and children at least 2 years old with obesity and certain genetically confirmed conditions affecting the MC4R pathway, including pro-opiomelanocortin, proprotein convertase subtilisin/kexin type 1 and leptin receptor deficiencies, as well as Bardet-Biedl syndrome.