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

Rhythm Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:RYTM)‘s stock had its “buy” rating restated by analysts at Needham & Company LLC in a note issued to investors on Thursday,Benzinga reports. They currently have a $64.00 price objective on the stock. Needham & Company LLC’s price objective would suggest a potential upside of 16.56% from the company’s previous close.

Other research analysts also recently issued reports about the stock. TD Cowen increased their price objective on shares of Rhythm Pharmaceuticals from $55.00 to $65.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 6th. HC Wainwright reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $69.00 price objective on shares of Rhythm Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Monday, December 23rd. Jefferies Financial Group assumed coverage on shares of Rhythm Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Thursday, January 2nd. They set a “buy” rating and a $80.00 price objective on the stock. Canaccord Genuity Group reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $80.00 price objective on shares of Rhythm Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Tuesday, November 19th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price target on shares of Rhythm Pharmaceuticals from $59.00 to $66.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 5th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Rhythm Pharmaceuticals presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $68.18.

Rhythm Pharmaceuticals Trading Up 3.6 %

Shares of RYTM stock opened at $54.91 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $3.37 billion, a PE ratio of -12.68 and a beta of 2.14. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $56.93 and a 200-day simple moving average of $54.20. Rhythm Pharmaceuticals has a twelve month low of $35.17 and a twelve month high of $68.58.

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Jennifer Kayden Lee sold 4,189 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $58.91, for a total value of $246,773.99. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 4,409 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $259,734.19. This trade represents a 48.72 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO David P. Meeker sold 9,896 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $57.22, for a total transaction of $566,249.12. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 201,281 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,517,298.82. This trade represents a 4.69 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 32,787 shares of company stock valued at $1,901,443 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 5.60% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Rhythm Pharmaceuticals

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. increased its stake in 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 buying an additional 400 shares during the period. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. acquired a new position in Rhythm Pharmaceuticals during the 4th quarter valued at about $28,000. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. acquired a new position in Rhythm Pharmaceuticals during the 4th quarter valued at about $37,000. R Squared Ltd acquired a new position in Rhythm Pharmaceuticals during the 4th quarter valued at about $44,000. Finally, State of Wyoming acquired a new position in Rhythm Pharmaceuticals during the 4th quarter valued at about $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.