Ardelyx, Inc. (NASDAQ:ARDX) Receives Consensus Recommendation of “Buy” from Analysts

Ardelyx, Inc. (NASDAQ:ARDX) has received an average recommendation of “Buy” from the nine analysts that are presently covering the company, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. The average 1-year price target among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $9.93.

ARDX has been the subject of several analyst reports. Jefferies Financial Group decreased their target price on shares of Ardelyx from $11.00 to $8.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, January 2nd. Raymond James reissued a “strong-buy” rating and issued a $13.00 price objective (down previously from $15.00) on shares of Ardelyx in a research report on Friday. Citigroup dropped their target price on shares of Ardelyx from $12.00 to $10.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, November 4th. Cantor Fitzgerald upgraded Ardelyx to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, HC Wainwright restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $5.50 price objective on shares of Ardelyx in a research note on Friday.

Ardelyx Trading Up 1.4 %

Ardelyx stock opened at $5.13 on Tuesday. The company has a market cap of $1.22 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -32.06 and a beta of 0.85. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $5.30 and a 200-day moving average of $5.63. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64, a current ratio of 4.03 and a quick ratio of 3.87. Ardelyx has a one year low of $4.32 and a one year high of $9.83.

Ardelyx (NASDAQ:ARDX) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 20th. The biopharmaceutical company reported $0.02 EPS for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $0.02. The firm had revenue of $116.13 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $111.16 million. Ardelyx had a negative return on equity of 25.74% and a negative net margin of 11.73%. On average, equities analysts expect that Ardelyx will post -0.18 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider Laura A. Williams sold 4,941 shares of Ardelyx stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $5.62, for a total transaction of $27,768.42. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 303,804 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,707,378.48. This trade represents a 1.60 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Michael Raab sold 25,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, December 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $5.26, for a total value of $131,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 1,150,385 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,051,025.10. This trade represents a 2.13 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 141,408 shares of company stock worth $761,963 over the last three months. Insiders own 5.90% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Ardelyx

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of ARDX. Mackenzie Financial Corp boosted its holdings in Ardelyx by 266.0% in the 4th quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 140,133 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $710,000 after purchasing an additional 101,841 shares during the period. GF Fund Management CO. LTD. acquired a new stake in shares of Ardelyx in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Palisades Investment Partners LLC boosted its stake in shares of Ardelyx by 7.1% in the fourth quarter. Palisades Investment Partners LLC now owns 517,781 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $2,625,000 after buying an additional 34,432 shares during the period. Two Seas Capital LP acquired a new stake in Ardelyx during the fourth quarter worth approximately $9,407,000. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC increased its stake in Ardelyx by 32.6% during the 4th quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 578,256 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $2,932,000 after acquiring an additional 142,294 shares during the period. 58.92% of the stock is 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.