Ardelyx, Inc. (NASDAQ:ARDX) Receives Average Rating of “Buy” from Analysts

Shares of Ardelyx, Inc. (NASDAQ:ARDX) have been given an average rating of “Buy” by the twelve brokerages that are presently covering the firm, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating on the company. The average 1-year target price among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $10.95.

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on ARDX. Piper Sandler raised shares of Ardelyx to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 12th. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $11.00 price objective on shares of Ardelyx in a research report on Friday, March 7th. Raymond James reiterated a “strong-buy” rating and issued a $13.00 price target (down from $15.00) on shares of Ardelyx in a report on Friday, February 21st. BTIG Research initiated coverage on Ardelyx in a research note on Tuesday, March 4th. They set a “buy” rating and a $14.00 price target for the company. Finally, HC Wainwright restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $5.50 target price on shares of Ardelyx in a research note on Friday, February 21st.

Ardelyx Trading Down 6.6 %

Shares of NASDAQ:ARDX opened at $5.13 on Friday. Ardelyx has a 52-week low of $4.32 and a 52-week high of $9.33. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.22 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -32.06 and a beta of 0.87. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.87, a quick ratio of 4.31 and a current ratio of 4.58. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $5.43 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $5.54.

Ardelyx (NASDAQ:ARDX) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 20th. The biopharmaceutical company reported $0.02 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.02. The firm had revenue of $116.13 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $111.16 million. Ardelyx had a negative net margin of 11.73% and a negative return on equity of 24.87%. Analysts expect that Ardelyx will post -0.18 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other Ardelyx news, CEO Michael Raab sold 41,666 shares of Ardelyx stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $5.31, for a total value of $221,246.46. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,129,552 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,997,921.12. The trade was a 3.56 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, Director David M. Mott acquired 199,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 21st. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $4.99 per share, with a total value of $993,010.00. Following the purchase, the director now owns 1,937,765 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,669,447.35. This trade represents a 11.44 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 158,076 shares of company stock valued at $853,804 in the last quarter. Insiders own 5.90% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Ardelyx

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of ARDX. Heck Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Ardelyx during the fourth quarter worth about $121,000. Mackenzie Financial Corp lifted its holdings in shares of Ardelyx by 266.0% in the 4th quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 140,133 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $710,000 after purchasing an additional 101,841 shares during the last quarter. GF Fund Management CO. LTD. acquired a new stake in shares of Ardelyx in the 4th quarter valued at about $25,000. Palisades Investment Partners LLC grew its stake in Ardelyx by 7.1% during the 4th quarter. Palisades Investment Partners LLC now owns 517,781 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $2,625,000 after buying an additional 34,432 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Two Seas Capital LP acquired a new position in Ardelyx during the fourth quarter worth approximately $9,407,000. 58.92% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Ardelyx

Ardelyx, Inc, a biopharmaceutical company, discovers, develops, and commercializes medicines to treat gastrointestinal and cardiorenal therapeutic areas in the United States and internationally. The company’s lead product candidate is tenapanor for the treatment of patients with irritable bowel syndrome with constipation.