Ardelyx’s (ARDX) Outperform Rating Reaffirmed at Wedbush

Ardelyx (NASDAQ:ARDX)‘s stock had its “outperform” rating restated by analysts at Wedbush in a report released on Monday,Benzinga reports. They presently have a $19.00 target price on the biopharmaceutical company’s stock. Wedbush’s price target suggests a potential upside of 231.59% from the stock’s current price.

Other equities research analysts have also recently issued reports about the stock. TD Cowen reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Ardelyx in a research report on Thursday, January 29th. HC Wainwright lifted their price objective on shares of Ardelyx from $10.00 to $18.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday. Raymond James Financial reissued a “strong-buy” rating and set a $19.00 target price on shares of Ardelyx in a research note on Thursday, January 8th. Piper Sandler upgraded shares of Ardelyx from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and raised their target price for the stock from $10.00 to $16.00 in a report on Thursday, January 8th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Ardelyx in a report on Wednesday, January 21st. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have assigned a Buy rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $15.09.

Ardelyx Stock Performance

ARDX opened at $5.73 on Monday. The company has a market capitalization of $1.41 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -22.92 and a beta of 0.57. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21, a current ratio of 4.31 and a quick ratio of 4.11. Ardelyx has a 1-year low of $3.21 and a 1-year high of $8.40. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $6.77 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $6.12.

Ardelyx (NASDAQ:ARDX) last issued its quarterly earnings results 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 firm had revenue of $125.22 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $118.04 million. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.02 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts predict that Ardelyx will post -0.18 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Ardelyx

In related news, insider Laura A. Williams sold 50,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $6.98, for a total value of $349,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 361,563 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,523,709.74. This trade represents a 12.15% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 4.80% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of ARDX. DCF Advisers LLC purchased a new stake in Ardelyx in the 2nd quarter worth about $39,000. Brighton Jones LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Ardelyx in the second quarter worth approximately $40,000. First Horizon Corp boosted its holdings in shares of Ardelyx by 120.4% during the fourth quarter. First Horizon Corp now owns 7,906 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $46,000 after purchasing an additional 4,319 shares during the period. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. grew its position in Ardelyx by 147.0% during the third quarter. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. now owns 10,253 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $56,000 after purchasing an additional 6,102 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Swiss Life Asset Management Ltd purchased a new position in Ardelyx during the third quarter valued at approximately $57,000. Hedge funds and other 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.