Ardelyx, Inc. (NASDAQ:ARDX) Receives Consensus Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from Analysts

Shares of Ardelyx, Inc. (NASDAQ:ARDX) have earned a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the ten research firms that are covering the stock, MarketBeat.com reports. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, eight have given a buy recommendation and one has issued a strong buy recommendation on the company. The average 12-month target price among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $15.70.

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Wedbush reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $19.00 price objective on shares of Ardelyx in a research note on Monday, February 23rd. Raymond James Financial restated a “strong-buy” rating and set a $19.00 target price on shares of Ardelyx in a research note on Thursday, January 8th. HC Wainwright raised their target price on Ardelyx from $10.00 to $18.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 20th. Citigroup boosted their price target on Ardelyx from $11.00 to $14.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 9th. Finally, TD Cowen restated a “buy” rating on shares of Ardelyx in a research report on Thursday, January 29th.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Laura A. Williams sold 50,000 shares of Ardelyx stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $6.98, for a total transaction of $349,000.00. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 361,563 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,523,709.74. The trade was a 12.15% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Mike Kelliher sold 9,595 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $5.85, for a total transaction of $56,130.75. Following the transaction, the insider owned 364,666 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,133,296.10. This represents a 2.56% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 178,604 shares of company stock valued at $1,100,917. Corporate insiders own 4.80% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Ardelyx

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. First Horizon Corp increased its holdings in shares of Ardelyx by 120.4% during the fourth quarter. First Horizon Corp now owns 7,906 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $46,000 after buying an additional 4,319 shares in the last quarter. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. lifted its stake in shares of Ardelyx by 147.0% in the 3rd quarter. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. now owns 10,253 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $56,000 after acquiring an additional 6,102 shares during the last quarter. Swiss Life Asset Management Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of Ardelyx during the 3rd quarter valued at $57,000. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. bought a new stake in Ardelyx during the 4th quarter worth $60,000. Finally, State of Wyoming bought a new stake in Ardelyx during the 2nd quarter worth $61,000. Institutional investors own 58.92% of the company’s stock.

Ardelyx Trading Up 7.9%

ARDX opened at $5.99 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.47 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -23.96 and a beta of 0.61. The company has a quick ratio of 4.11, a current ratio of 4.31 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21. Ardelyx has a twelve month low of $3.21 and a twelve month high of $8.40. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $6.58 and a 200 day simple moving average of $6.09.

Ardelyx (NASDAQ:ARDX) last released its earnings results on Thursday, February 19th. The biopharmaceutical company reported ($0.01) EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.02 by ($0.03). The firm had revenue of $125.22 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $118.04 million. Ardelyx had a negative net margin of 15.12% and a negative return on equity of 40.63%. Ardelyx’s quarterly revenue was up 7.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.02 earnings per share. Analysts predict that Ardelyx will post -0.18 EPS for the current fiscal year.

About Ardelyx

Ardelyx, Inc (NASDAQ: ARDX) is a clinical‐stage biopharmaceutical company focused on discovering, developing and commercializing targeted small molecule drugs for cardio‐renal and gastrointestinal diseases. The company’s lead marketed product, tenapanor (sold under the brand name XPHOZAH in the United States), is approved for the treatment of hyperphosphatemia in patients with chronic kidney disease on dialysis. Ardelyx’s proprietary approach targets epithelial transporters in the gastrointestinal tract, offering localized activity with limited systemic exposure.

Beyond tenapanor, Ardelyx’s development pipeline includes treatments designed to address other complications in kidney disease and related metabolic disorders.