Ardelyx (NASDAQ:ARDX) Price Target Increased to $11.00 by Analysts at HC Wainwright

Ardelyx (NASDAQ:ARDX) had its target price upped by research analysts at HC Wainwright from $10.00 to $11.00 in a research note issued to investors on Monday, Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a “buy” rating on the biopharmaceutical company’s stock. HC Wainwright’s price objective suggests a potential upside of 81.82% from the company’s previous close.

Several other research firms have also weighed in on ARDX. Piper Sandler lowered shares of Ardelyx from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and dropped their price objective for the company from $15.00 to $7.00 in a research note on Tuesday, July 2nd. Wedbush reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $11.00 price objective on shares of Ardelyx in a research report on Friday. Citigroup upped their target price on Ardelyx from $10.00 to $12.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday. StockNews.com raised Ardelyx from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald restated an “overweight” rating on shares of Ardelyx in a report on Thursday, June 20th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $11.43.

Ardelyx Price Performance

Ardelyx stock remained flat at $6.05 during midday trading on Monday. 4,370,617 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 5,610,311. Ardelyx has a 1 year low of $3.16 and a 1 year high of $10.13. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66, a quick ratio of 4.36 and a current ratio of 4.53. The firm has a market cap of $1.41 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -20.89 and a beta of 0.83. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $6.11 and a two-hundred day moving average of $7.40.

Ardelyx (NASDAQ:ARDX) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The biopharmaceutical company reported ($0.07) earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.11) by $0.04. Ardelyx had a negative return on equity of 38.41% and a negative net margin of 31.02%. The business had revenue of $73.20 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $55.03 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted ($0.08) earnings per share. Ardelyx’s revenue for the quarter was up 228.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Ardelyx will post -0.34 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Ardelyx

In related news, insider Laura A. Williams sold 145,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, June 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $7.12, for a total transaction of $1,032,400.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 322,152 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,293,722.24. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In related news, insider Laura A. Williams sold 145,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, June 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $7.12, for a total transaction of $1,032,400.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 322,152 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,293,722.24. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Michael Raab sold 30,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $5.64, for a total value of $169,200.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,260,463 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,109,011.32. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 286,182 shares of company stock worth $1,920,302. 5.50% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Ardelyx

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC increased its stake in Ardelyx by 1,026.3% during the second quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 3,548 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 3,233 shares during the period. HighMark Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Ardelyx during the first quarter valued at about $36,000. Jump Financial LLC bought a new position in Ardelyx during the fourth quarter valued at about $63,000. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. bought a new position in Ardelyx during the first quarter valued at about $64,000. Finally, Vontobel Holding Ltd. bought a new position in Ardelyx during the fourth quarter valued at about $74,000. 58.92% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.