Ardelyx (NASDAQ:ARDX) Stock Rating Lowered by Zacks Research

Ardelyx (NASDAQ:ARDX) was downgraded by research analysts at Zacks Research from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research note issued to investors on Wednesday,Zacks.com reports.

Several other analysts have also recently issued reports on ARDX. Weiss Ratings cut shares of Ardelyx from a “sell (d-)” rating to a “sell (e+)” rating in a research report on Monday, June 29th. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH assumed coverage on Ardelyx in a research note on Tuesday, June 16th. They set a “buy” rating and a $16.00 price objective on the stock. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have issued a Buy rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Ardelyx has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $15.73.

Ardelyx Trading Up 1.0%

ARDX stock opened at $5.13 on Wednesday. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $5.65 and a 200 day moving average price of $6.21. Ardelyx has a fifty-two week low of $4.07 and a fifty-two week high of $8.40. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.37, a quick ratio of 3.28 and a current ratio of 3.49. The firm has a market cap of $1.27 billion, a PE ratio of -22.30 and a beta of 0.61.

Ardelyx (NASDAQ:ARDX) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The biopharmaceutical company reported ($0.15) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates 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 business had revenue of $94.47 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $92.78 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned ($0.17) EPS. Ardelyx’s revenue for the quarter was up 27.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Ardelyx will post -0.08 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Ardelyx

In other Ardelyx news, insider Eric Duane Foster sold 7,998 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $6.27, for a total value of $50,147.46. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 417,972 shares in the company, valued at $2,620,684.44. This represents a 1.88% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, 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 completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 357,418 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,241,010.86. This trade represents a 1.99% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 24,572 shares of company stock valued at $154,066. Corporate insiders own 5.30% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Bank of America Corp DE raised its stake in Ardelyx by 88.8% in the second quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 5,527,988 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $21,670,000 after buying an additional 2,600,080 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp boosted its position in shares of Ardelyx by 22.6% in the 4th quarter. State Street Corp now owns 11,912,339 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $69,449,000 after purchasing an additional 2,193,649 shares in the last quarter. Rubric Capital Management LP purchased a new position in Ardelyx during the 1st quarter worth $11,147,000. J. Goldman & Co LP grew its stake in shares of Ardelyx by 1,034.8% during the fourth quarter. J. Goldman & Co LP now owns 1,622,736 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $9,461,000 after acquiring an additional 1,479,736 shares during the last quarter. Finally, AIGH Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Ardelyx by 479.3% during the fourth quarter. AIGH Capital Management LLC now owns 1,150,000 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $6,704,000 after buying an additional 951,500 shares during the last quarter. 58.92% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.