Ardelyx, Inc. (NASDAQ:ARDX) Given Average Recommendation of “Buy” by Brokerages

Shares of Ardelyx, Inc. (NASDAQ:ARDX) have been assigned a consensus recommendation of “Buy” from the nine ratings firms that are presently covering the company, Marketbeat.com reports. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. The average 1-year price objective among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $12.81.

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on ARDX. Leerink Partnrs restated an “outperform” rating on shares of Ardelyx in a report on Friday, April 5th. Citigroup raised their price target on shares of Ardelyx from $13.00 to $14.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, May 3rd. Wedbush restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $15.00 price target on shares of Ardelyx in a report on Friday, May 24th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Ardelyx from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, June 6th. Finally, Piper Sandler restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $15.00 price target on shares of Ardelyx in a report on Friday, May 24th.

Ardelyx Stock Up 1.5 %

Shares of Ardelyx stock opened at $6.11 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66, a current ratio of 4.53 and a quick ratio of 4.36. Ardelyx has a 1 year low of $3.16 and a 1 year high of $10.13. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $6.99 and its two-hundred day moving average is $7.61. The stock has a market cap of $1.42 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -21.82 and a beta of 0.79.

Ardelyx (NASDAQ:ARDX) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, May 2nd. The biopharmaceutical company reported ($0.11) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.13) by $0.02. Ardelyx had a negative net margin of 41.36% and a negative return on equity of 41.65%. The company had revenue of $46.00 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $36.40 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned ($0.13) EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 303.5% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts expect that Ardelyx will post -0.36 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Ardelyx

In related news, CEO Michael Raab sold 30,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $6.40, for a total value of $192,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,310,933 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,389,971.20. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other Ardelyx news, insider Laura A. Williams sold 39,949 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $8.35, for a total transaction of $333,574.15. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 370,189 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,091,078.15. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Michael Raab sold 30,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $6.40, for a total transaction of $192,000.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,310,933 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,389,971.20. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 533,327 shares of company stock valued at $4,113,099 in the last three months. 5.50% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Ardelyx

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of ARDX. HighMark Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Ardelyx during the 1st quarter worth approximately $36,000. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Ardelyx during the 1st quarter worth approximately $64,000. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Ardelyx during the 4th quarter worth approximately $62,000. Jump Financial LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Ardelyx during the 4th quarter worth approximately $63,000. Finally, Paloma Partners Management Co acquired a new stake in shares of Ardelyx during the 1st quarter worth approximately $86,000. 58.92% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Ardelyx Company Profile

Ardelyx, Inc, a biopharmaceutical company, discovers, develops, and commercializes medicines to treat gastrointestinal and cardiorenal therapeutic areas in the United States and internationally. The company's lead product candidate is tenapanor for the treatment of patients with irritable bowel syndrome with constipation.