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

Rhythm Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:RYTM)‘s stock had its “buy” rating reissued by Needham & Company LLC in a report issued on Thursday,Benzinga reports. They presently have a $64.00 price target on the stock. Needham & Company LLC’s price target points to a potential upside of 16.56% from the company’s current price.

Several other research firms have also weighed in on RYTM. Oppenheimer began coverage on shares of Rhythm Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Friday, December 20th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $76.00 price objective for the company. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price objective on shares of Rhythm Pharmaceuticals from $59.00 to $66.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 5th. HC Wainwright reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $69.00 target price on shares of Rhythm Pharmaceuticals in a report on Monday, December 23rd. JMP Securities reiterated a “market outperform” rating and issued a $75.00 target price on shares of Rhythm Pharmaceuticals in a report on Monday, December 23rd. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on shares of Rhythm Pharmaceuticals in a report on Thursday, January 2nd. They issued a “buy” rating and a $80.00 target price for the company. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $68.18.

Rhythm Pharmaceuticals Trading Up 3.6 %

NASDAQ:RYTM opened at $54.91 on Thursday. Rhythm Pharmaceuticals has a twelve month low of $35.17 and a twelve month high of $68.58. The company has a 50-day moving average of $56.93 and a 200-day moving average of $54.20. The firm has a market cap of $3.37 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -12.68 and a beta of 2.14.

Rhythm Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:RYTM) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 26th. The company reported ($0.72) earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate 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 business had revenue of $41.83 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $38.48 million. On average, research analysts forecast that Rhythm Pharmaceuticals will post -4.32 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CFO Hunter C. Smith sold 1,678 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $59.43, for a total transaction of $99,723.54. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 101,186 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,013,483.98. This trade represents a 1.63 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Joseph Shulman sold 1,281 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $59.43, for a total transaction of $76,129.83. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 2,657 shares in the company, valued at approximately $157,905.51. The trade was a 32.53 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 32,787 shares of company stock worth $1,901,443. 5.60% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Rhythm Pharmaceuticals

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. raised its position in Rhythm Pharmaceuticals by 740.7% during the fourth quarter. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 454 shares of the company’s stock valued at $25,000 after acquiring an additional 400 shares in the last quarter. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. bought a new position in Rhythm Pharmaceuticals during 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 approximately $37,000. R Squared Ltd bought a new position in Rhythm Pharmaceuticals during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $44,000. Finally, State of Wyoming bought a new position in Rhythm Pharmaceuticals during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $61,000.

Rhythm Pharmaceuticals Company Profile

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.