LADENBURG THALM/SH SH Begins Coverage on Ardelyx (NASDAQ:ARDX)

Equities researchers at LADENBURG THALM/SH SH started coverage on shares of Ardelyx (NASDAQ:ARDX) in a research report issued to clients and investors on Tuesday. The brokerage set a “buy” rating and a $16.00 price target on the biopharmaceutical company’s stock. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH’s price target would indicate a potential upside of 179.43% from the company’s current price.

ARDX has been the subject of a number of other reports. Wedbush reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $19.00 price target on shares of Ardelyx in a research note on Monday, February 23rd. BTIG Research reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $17.00 target price on shares of Ardelyx in a report on Friday, February 20th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Ardelyx in a research report on Monday, April 20th. Williams Trading set a $17.00 price target on Ardelyx in a research note on Thursday, March 12th. Finally, HC Wainwright raised their price target on Ardelyx from $10.00 to $18.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 20th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have given a Buy rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $15.73.

Ardelyx Trading Up 0.8%

NASDAQ:ARDX traded up $0.05 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $5.73. 114,106 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 4,164,469. The company’s 50 day moving average is $6.12 and its two-hundred day moving average is $6.29. Ardelyx has a twelve month low of $3.49 and a twelve month high of $8.40. The company has a quick ratio of 3.28, a current ratio of 3.49 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.37. The company has a market capitalization of $1.41 billion, a P/E ratio of -25.02 and a beta of 0.58.

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

Insider Buying and Selling at Ardelyx

In related news, insider Mike Kelliher sold 7,248 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 21st. The shares were 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,241,010.86. The trade was a 1.99% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Eric Duane Foster sold 7,998 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $6.27, for a total transaction of $50,147.46. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 417,972 shares of the company’s stock, 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. Insiders sold a total of 24,572 shares of company stock worth $154,066 over the last ninety days. 5.30% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Ardelyx

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV grew its stake in shares of Ardelyx by 4.7% during the 4th quarter. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV now owns 38,512 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $225,000 after acquiring an additional 1,722 shares in the last quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. boosted its holdings in Ardelyx by 26.7% during the fourth 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 during the last quarter. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH boosted its holdings in Ardelyx by 0.7% during the fourth 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 during the last quarter. Cerity Partners LLC grew its position in Ardelyx by 5.3% in the fourth quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 59,359 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $346,000 after purchasing an additional 2,972 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC grew its position in Ardelyx by 24.2% in the third quarter. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC now owns 15,263 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $84,000 after purchasing an additional 2,975 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors 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.