Franklin Resources Inc. Buys 26,739 Shares of Rhythm Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:RYTM)

Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its stake in Rhythm Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:RYTM) by 11.5% during the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 259,416 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 26,739 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc.’s holdings in Rhythm Pharmaceuticals were worth $13,033,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. CWM LLC boosted its stake in shares of Rhythm Pharmaceuticals by 62.6% in the 2nd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 657 shares of the company’s stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 253 shares during the last quarter. ORG Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new position in Rhythm Pharmaceuticals in the third quarter valued at $63,000. Quest Partners LLC lifted its holdings in Rhythm Pharmaceuticals by 513.3% in the second quarter. Quest Partners LLC now owns 1,662 shares of the company’s stock valued at $68,000 after buying an additional 1,391 shares during the period. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. boosted its position in Rhythm Pharmaceuticals by 21.5% during the third quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 2,211 shares of the company’s stock valued at $114,000 after acquiring an additional 391 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its holdings in Rhythm Pharmaceuticals by 32.8% during the 2nd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 9,532 shares of the company’s stock worth $391,000 after acquiring an additional 2,352 shares during the period.

Insider Buying and Selling at Rhythm Pharmaceuticals

In other news, insider Joseph Shulman sold 13,281 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, November 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $66.44, for a total value of $882,389.64. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Jennifer Kayden Lee sold 66,861 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $66.33, for a total transaction of $4,434,890.13. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 972 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $64,472.76. This represents a 98.57 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 84,830 shares of company stock worth $5,622,000. Insiders own 5.60% of the company’s stock.

Rhythm Pharmaceuticals Trading Up 1.2 %

NASDAQ RYTM opened at $56.12 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $3.45 billion, a P/E ratio of -12.96 and a beta of 2.14. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $56.39 and a 200 day simple moving average of $49.98. Rhythm Pharmaceuticals, Inc. has a 12-month low of $35.17 and a 12-month high of $68.58.

Rhythm Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:RYTM) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, November 5th. The company reported ($0.73) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.80) by $0.07. The firm had revenue of $33.20 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $32.52 million. Rhythm Pharmaceuticals had a negative net margin of 230.07% and a negative return on equity of 367.36%. The business’s revenue was up 47.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company earned ($0.76) earnings per share. Sell-side analysts predict that Rhythm Pharmaceuticals, Inc. will post -4.34 EPS for the current year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on RYTM. TD Cowen boosted their price objective on Rhythm Pharmaceuticals from $55.00 to $65.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 6th. Bank of America boosted their price target on Rhythm Pharmaceuticals from $48.00 to $52.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, October 14th. Canaccord Genuity Group restated a “buy” rating and set a $80.00 price target on shares of Rhythm Pharmaceuticals in a report on Tuesday, November 19th. HC Wainwright reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $69.00 price objective on shares of Rhythm Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group increased their target price on shares of Rhythm Pharmaceuticals from $59.00 to $66.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 5th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $65.80.

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.