Druckenmiller took an interest in the developer of a weight-loss drug. What is the company known for?

Billionaire Stanley Druckenmiller’s Duquesne Family Office acquired shares in the mid-cap biotech company Rhythm Pharmaceuticals in the second quarter. The company is developing drugs to treat rare forms of obesity for which the best-selling drugs from Novo Nordisk and Eli Lilly are not suitable, and it has almost no competitors, according to The Motley Fool.

Druckenmiller’s Duquesne Family Office acquired 203,618 shares of Rhythm Pharmaceuticals during the second quarter; and the value of this stake as of the end of the reporting period was estimated at $22.6 million, according to the fund’s filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.

At the close of trading on August 21, one share of the company was worth $110: based on this, Druckenmiller's stake is currently valued at $22.4 million.

Read about Druckenmiller's other investment decisions in the second quarter on the Oninvest website.

Rhythm Pharmaceuticals is developing drugs to treat rare forms of obesity caused by genetic disorders or damage to the areas of the brain that control hunger, writes Motley Fool contributing analyst Prosper Junior Bakini. This sets them apart from Novo Nordisk’s Wegovy and Eli Lilly’s Zepboud, which are designed for patients with common forms of the disease.

So far, there is only one Rhythm drug on the market—Imcivree. The FDA first approved it in 2020 for weight management in patients with a deficiency of a specific protein that regulates appetite. Two years later, the agency expanded the drug’s indications to include people with Bardet-Biedl syndrome, a genetic disorder that can cause weight gain. And in March 2026, the FDA authorized the drug for the treatment of patients with acquired hypothalamic obesity—a rare condition characterized by rapid and persistent weight gain due to damage to or dysfunction of the hypothalamus.

Bakini of The Motley Fool drew particular attention to the FDA’s latest decision. The company estimated that, for the first two indications, the target market for its drug in the U.S. and Europe totals approximately 7,500 patients. Meanwhile, according to Rhythm, about 28,000 people in the U.S., Europe, and Japan suffer from hypothalamic obesity. Thus, the new indication has more than quadrupled the biotech company’s potential market, Bakini calculated. This should also improve Rhythm’s revenue growth, the article notes. At the end of the second quarter, this figure rose 47% year-over-year to $71.3 million.

The analyst believes that the next expansion of Imcivree’s indications may be even more significant. Rhythm reported positive results from a mid-phase clinical trial in patients with Prader-Willi syndrome —a rare genetic disorder that causes constant hunger and obesity. About 400,000 people worldwide live with this condition. Imcivree may not receive approval for this indication for several years, but if it does, it will significantly improve the company’s financial results, the analyst notes.

According to an article by The Motley Fool, the potential market for Rhythm's drugs is not as large as that of Eli Lilly and Novo Nordisk. On the one hand, this means the company has fewer competitors, allowing it to generate stable revenue and profits, Bakini writes.

On the other hand, investing in the company carries significant risks, the analyst warns. In addition to potential clinical and regulatory issues, increased competition in Rhythm’s relatively small target market could significantly worsen its prospects, he explains. Therefore, Bakini advises investors to open a small position in the company’s stock and increase it as the company makes progress.

Overall, analysts are fairly optimistic about Rhythm’s stock: the stock has 16 “Buy” ratings and only one “Hold,” according to MarketWatch. There are no “Sell” recommendations. The average price target is $141.5, which is nearly 29% higher than the closing price on Friday, August 21.

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