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

Shares of Ardelyx, Inc. (NASDAQ:ARDX) have earned a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the eleven ratings firms that are currently covering the stock, MarketBeat Ratings reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, nine have issued a buy recommendation and one has given a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 12-month target price among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $15.7273.

Several research firms have recently weighed in on ARDX. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH initiated coverage on Ardelyx in a research report on Tuesday, June 16th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $16.00 price objective for the company. Leerink Partners restated an “outperform” rating on shares of Ardelyx in a research report on Thursday, March 12th. Williams Trading set a $17.00 target price on Ardelyx in a research note on Thursday, March 12th. Finally, Weiss Ratings downgraded Ardelyx from a “sell (d-)” rating to a “sell (e+)” rating in a report on Monday, June 29th.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, insider Eric Duane Foster sold 7,998 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $6.27, for a total transaction of $50,147.46. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 417,972 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,620,684.44. This trade represents a 1.88% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, insider Mike Kelliher sold 7,248 shares of Ardelyx stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $6.27, for a total transaction of $45,444.96. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 357,418 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,241,010.86. This represents a 1.99% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold a total of 24,572 shares of company stock worth $154,066 over the last 90 days. Company insiders own 5.30% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Ardelyx

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV raised its holdings in shares of Ardelyx by 4.7% during the fourth quarter. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV now owns 38,512 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $225,000 after purchasing an additional 1,722 shares during the period. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. boosted its position in shares of Ardelyx by 26.7% during 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 grew its stake 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 valued at $2,027,000 after buying an additional 2,532 shares during the period. Cerity Partners LLC grew its stake 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 valued at $346,000 after buying an additional 2,972 shares during the period. Finally, Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC increased its position in Ardelyx by 24.2% in the 3rd quarter. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC now owns 15,263 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $84,000 after buying an additional 2,975 shares in the last quarter. 58.92% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Ardelyx Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ ARDX opened at $5.38 on Friday. Ardelyx has a twelve month low of $4.07 and a twelve month high of $8.40. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $5.95 and a 200 day simple moving average of $6.26. The company has a market capitalization of $1.33 billion, a PE ratio of -23.39 and a beta of 0.61. The company has a quick ratio of 3.28, a current ratio of 3.49 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.37.

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

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.