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

Ardelyx, Inc. (NASDAQ:ARDX) has been given a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” by the ten research firms that are presently covering the company, Marketbeat Ratings reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating on the company. The average 1 year target price among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $15.70.

A number of brokerages have weighed in on ARDX. Williams Trading set a $17.00 price target on shares of Ardelyx in a research note on Thursday. HC Wainwright increased their price objective on shares of Ardelyx from $10.00 to $18.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 20th. Wedbush restated an “outperform” rating and set a $19.00 price objective on shares of Ardelyx in a report on Monday, February 23rd. TD Cowen reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Ardelyx in a research report on Thursday, January 29th. Finally, Leerink Partners reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of Ardelyx in a research note on Thursday.

Ardelyx Trading Up 2.1%

NASDAQ ARDX opened at $5.78 on Friday. Ardelyx has a one year low of $3.21 and a one year high of $8.40. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21, a current ratio of 4.31 and a quick ratio of 4.11. The firm has a market cap of $1.42 billion, a P/E ratio of -23.12 and a beta of 0.61. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $6.88 and its 200-day moving average is $6.17.

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, insider Laura A. Williams sold 8,176 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $5.85, for a total value of $47,829.60. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 436,082 shares in the company, valued at $2,551,079.70. The trade was a 1.84% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Mike Kelliher sold 9,595 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $5.85, for a total value of $56,130.75. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 364,666 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,133,296.10. This represents a 2.56% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 136,938 shares of company stock valued at $857,587. Corporate insiders own 4.80% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Ardelyx

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of ARDX. Marshall Wace LLP grew its position in Ardelyx by 34.2% in the second quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 11,250,652 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $44,103,000 after purchasing an additional 2,866,843 shares in the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE increased its stake in Ardelyx by 88.8% in the 2nd quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 5,527,988 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $21,670,000 after buying an additional 2,600,080 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in Ardelyx by 14.6% during the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 18,369,321 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $101,215,000 after buying an additional 2,337,672 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp lifted its position in Ardelyx by 22.6% during the 4th quarter. State Street Corp now owns 11,912,339 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $69,449,000 after buying an additional 2,193,649 shares in the last quarter. Finally, J. Goldman & Co LP boosted its stake in shares of Ardelyx by 1,034.8% during the 4th quarter. J. Goldman & Co LP now owns 1,622,736 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $9,461,000 after buying an additional 1,479,736 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 58.92% of the company’s stock.

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.