Ardelyx (NASDAQ:ARDX) Stock Rating Lowered by Piper Sandler

Ardelyx (NASDAQ:ARDX) was downgraded by Piper Sandler from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research note issued on Tuesday, Briefing.com reports. They currently have a $7.00 target price on the biopharmaceutical company’s stock, down from their previous target price of $15.00. Piper Sandler’s price target indicates a potential upside of 28.91% from the company’s current price.

Several other research firms have also weighed in on ARDX. SVB Leerink initiated coverage on shares of Ardelyx in a report on Friday, April 5th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $14.00 target price on the stock. StockNews.com cut shares of Ardelyx from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Friday. Cantor Fitzgerald restated an “overweight” rating on shares of Ardelyx in a research report on Thursday, June 20th. Citigroup boosted their price objective on shares of Ardelyx from $13.00 to $14.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, May 3rd. Finally, Wedbush reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $15.00 target price on shares of Ardelyx in a report on Friday, May 24th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has assigned a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $11.81.

Ardelyx Stock Performance

ARDX stock traded down $2.14 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $5.43. The stock had a trading volume of 12,464,823 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,703,653. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $7.02 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $7.65. The stock has a market cap of $1.26 billion, a PE ratio of -19.39 and a beta of 0.83. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66, a quick ratio of 4.36 and a current ratio of 4.53. Ardelyx has a 52-week low of $3.16 and a 52-week high of $10.13.

Ardelyx (NASDAQ:ARDX) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 2nd. The biopharmaceutical company reported ($0.11) EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.13) by $0.02. Ardelyx had a negative return on equity of 41.65% and a negative net margin of 41.36%. The firm 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 firm posted ($0.13) earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 303.5% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Ardelyx will post -0.36 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Ardelyx

In other news, insider Robert Ora Felsch sold 207,988 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $8.81, for a total value of $1,832,374.28. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 95,947 shares in the company, valued at $845,293.07. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. In other news, CEO Michael Raab sold 7,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $7.06, for a total transaction of $52,950.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,310,933 shares in the company, valued at $9,255,186.98. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Robert Ora Felsch sold 207,988 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, May 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $8.81, for a total transaction of $1,832,374.28. Following the sale, the insider now owns 95,947 shares in the company, valued at $845,293.07. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 534,119 shares of company stock worth $4,117,225 over the last quarter. Insiders own 5.50% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Ardelyx

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in ARDX. HighMark Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Ardelyx in the 1st quarter worth about $36,000. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. acquired a new position in Ardelyx in the first quarter worth $64,000. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Ardelyx during the fourth quarter valued at $62,000. Jump Financial LLC bought a new stake in Ardelyx in the fourth quarter valued at about $63,000. Finally, Paloma Partners Management Co bought a new stake in shares of Ardelyx in the first quarter worth about $86,000. 58.92% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Ardelyx

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.