Ardelyx (NASDAQ:ARDX) Earns Neutral Rating from HC Wainwright

Ardelyx (NASDAQ:ARDX)‘s stock had its “neutral” rating restated by research analysts at HC Wainwright in a research note issued on Thursday,Benzinga reports. They currently have a $5.50 price target on the biopharmaceutical company’s stock. HC Wainwright’s target price indicates a potential upside of 7.63% from the company’s previous close.

A number of other research analysts have also issued reports on ARDX. Jefferies Financial Group cut their price target on shares of Ardelyx from $11.00 to $8.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 2nd. Citigroup cut their target price on Ardelyx from $12.00 to $10.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, November 4th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $9.25.

Ardelyx Stock Down 4.5 %

Shares of ARDX traded down $0.24 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $5.11. 1,141,967 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 4,924,069. The company has a market capitalization of $1.21 billion, a PE ratio of -17.03 and a beta of 0.85. The company has a quick ratio of 3.87, a current ratio of 4.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64. The business has a 50 day moving average of $5.17 and a 200 day moving average of $5.67. Ardelyx has a 1-year low of $4.32 and a 1-year high of $10.13.

Insider Activity at Ardelyx

In other Ardelyx news, insider David P. Rosenbaum sold 27,171 shares of Ardelyx stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $6.10, for a total transaction of $165,743.10. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 153,616 shares in the company, valued at approximately $937,057.60. This trade represents a 15.03 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Michael Raab sold 41,666 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $5.31, for a total value of $221,246.46. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,129,552 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,997,921.12. This trade represents a 3.56 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 218,358 shares of company stock worth $1,189,516 over the last three months. Company insiders own 5.90% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Ardelyx

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. State Street Corp lifted its stake in shares of Ardelyx by 1.5% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 12,141,850 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $83,657,000 after purchasing an additional 176,789 shares during the period. Rubric Capital Management LP raised its position in shares of Ardelyx by 68.5% in the third quarter. Rubric Capital Management LP now owns 3,060,191 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $21,085,000 after acquiring an additional 1,243,606 shares during the period. BNP Paribas Financial Markets boosted its stake in shares of Ardelyx by 274.3% during the 3rd quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 181,387 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $1,250,000 after acquiring an additional 132,928 shares in the last quarter. Vestal Point Capital LP acquired a new stake in shares of Ardelyx during the 3rd quarter valued at about $3,445,000. Finally, Millennium Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Ardelyx by 142.8% in the 2nd quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 3,203,090 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $23,735,000 after purchasing an additional 1,883,995 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 58.92% of the company’s stock.

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.