Rhythm Pharmaceuticals price target lowered to $152 from $176 at Citizens

Citizens lowered the firm’s price target on Rhythm Pharmaceuticals (RYTM) to $152 from $176 and keeps an Outperform rating on the shares. The Phase 3 EMANATE miss is attributed to enrollment of patients without true loss-of-function variants and high dropout rates, underscoring that variant pathogenicity drives response and that future development should prioritize clearly pathogenic subtypes such as POMC/PCSK1 and SRC1, the analyst tells investors in a research note. Rhythm Pharmaceuticals is now focused on commercial execution of Imcivree, the March 20 PDUFA decision in HO, and progress in PWS, assigning setmelanotide a 90% probability of success in HO and modeling a peak opportunity exceeding $2B while removing earlier-stage opportunities from valuation pending clarity on next-gen candidates, the firm says.