HC Wainwright Reaffirms “Buy” Rating for Rhythm Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:RYTM)

Rhythm Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:RYTM)‘s stock had its “buy” rating reiterated by equities researchers at HC Wainwright in a research report issued to clients and investors on Monday,Benzinga reports. They presently have a $70.00 price target on the stock. HC Wainwright’s target price would suggest a potential upside of 34.51% from the company’s current price.

Several other research analysts have also issued reports on RYTM. Needham & Company LLC increased their target price on shares of Rhythm Pharmaceuticals from $64.00 to $66.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 18th. Stifel Nicolaus assumed coverage on shares of Rhythm Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. They set a “buy” rating and a $78.00 price objective on the stock. Oppenheimer initiated coverage on Rhythm Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Friday, December 20th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $76.00 price target on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price objective on Rhythm Pharmaceuticals from $59.00 to $66.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 5th. Finally, Morgan Stanley reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $72.00 price target on shares of Rhythm Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Friday, March 7th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $69.46.

Rhythm Pharmaceuticals Stock Down 4.0 %

Rhythm Pharmaceuticals stock opened at $52.04 on Monday. The stock has a market cap of $3.29 billion, a PE ratio of -12.02 and a beta of 2.30. Rhythm Pharmaceuticals has a 12-month low of $35.17 and a 12-month high of $68.58. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $55.30 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $54.96.

Rhythm Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:RYTM) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 26th. The company reported ($0.72) earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.69) by ($0.03). The company had revenue of $41.83 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $38.48 million. Rhythm Pharmaceuticals had a negative net margin of 230.07% and a negative return on equity of 367.36%. As a group, analysts expect that Rhythm Pharmaceuticals will post -4.32 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CAO Christopher Paul German sold 635 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $57.22, for a total transaction of $36,334.70. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 2,070 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $118,445.40. This trade represents a 23.48 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Yann Mazabraud sold 75,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $51.48, for a total transaction of $3,861,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 40,370 shares in the company, valued at $2,078,247.60. This trade represents a 65.01 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 107,787 shares of company stock worth $5,762,443. 5.60% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Rhythm Pharmaceuticals

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. grew its position in shares of Rhythm Pharmaceuticals by 740.7% during the 4th quarter. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 454 shares of the company’s stock valued at $25,000 after acquiring an additional 400 shares during the period. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. purchased a new position in Rhythm Pharmaceuticals in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $28,000. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. bought a new position in Rhythm Pharmaceuticals during the fourth quarter valued at $37,000. R Squared Ltd purchased a new stake in Rhythm Pharmaceuticals in the fourth quarter worth $44,000. Finally, State of Wyoming purchased a new stake in Rhythm Pharmaceuticals in the fourth quarter worth $61,000.

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.