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

Ardelyx, Inc. (NASDAQ:ARDX) has been assigned an average rating of “Moderate Buy” from the ten ratings firms that are covering the firm, MarketBeat reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, eight have given a buy recommendation and one has given a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 1 year price objective among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $15.70.

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on ARDX. Williams Trading set a $17.00 price target on Ardelyx in a report on Thursday, March 12th. Leerink Partners reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Ardelyx in a report on Thursday, March 12th. BTIG Research reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $17.00 price target on shares of Ardelyx in a report on Friday, February 20th. Wedbush reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $19.00 price target on shares of Ardelyx in a report on Monday, February 23rd. Finally, Weiss Ratings reiterated a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Ardelyx in a report on Monday, April 20th.

Ardelyx Stock Performance

Shares of ARDX stock opened at $5.69 on Monday. The company has a market cap of $1.41 billion, a PE ratio of -24.74 and a beta of 0.58. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $6.13 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $6.29. Ardelyx has a 1 year low of $3.49 and a 1 year high of $8.40. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.37, a current ratio of 3.49 and a quick ratio of 3.28.

Ardelyx (NASDAQ:ARDX) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The biopharmaceutical company reported ($0.15) earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.13) by ($0.02). Ardelyx had a negative return on equity of 38.11% and a negative net margin of 13.58%.The business had revenue of $94.47 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $92.78 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted ($0.17) earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 27.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts predict that Ardelyx will post -0.07 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity at Ardelyx

In other news, insider Mike Kelliher sold 7,248 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $6.27, for a total value of $45,444.96. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 357,418 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,241,010.86. This represents a 1.99% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Eric Duane Foster sold 7,998 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $6.27, for a total value of $50,147.46. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 417,972 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,620,684.44. The trade was a 1.88% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 24,572 shares of company stock worth $154,066. Company insiders own 5.30% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV grew its stake in Ardelyx by 4.7% in the fourth quarter. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV now owns 38,512 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $225,000 after purchasing an additional 1,722 shares in the last quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. boosted its position in shares of Ardelyx by 26.7% in the 4th quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 11,807 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $69,000 after purchasing an additional 2,491 shares in the last quarter. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH boosted its position in shares of Ardelyx by 0.7% in the 4th quarter. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH now owns 347,609 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $2,027,000 after purchasing an additional 2,532 shares in the last quarter. Cerity Partners LLC boosted its position in shares of Ardelyx by 5.3% in the 4th quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 59,359 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $346,000 after purchasing an additional 2,972 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC boosted its position in shares of Ardelyx by 24.2% in the 3rd quarter. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC now owns 15,263 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $84,000 after purchasing an additional 2,975 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 58.92% of the company’s stock.

Ardelyx Company Profile

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.