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

Shares of Ardelyx, Inc. (NASDAQ:ARDX) have been assigned an average rating of “Buy” from the twelve research firms that are covering the stock, Marketbeat reports. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, eight have assigned a buy recommendation and two have assigned a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 12-month price target among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $10.95.

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. BTIG Research assumed coverage on shares of Ardelyx in a report on Tuesday, March 4th. They set a “buy” rating and a $14.00 price objective on the stock. HC Wainwright restated a “neutral” rating and set a $5.50 price target on shares of Ardelyx in a research note on Friday, February 21st. Cantor Fitzgerald upgraded shares of Ardelyx to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 4th. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $11.00 target price on shares of Ardelyx in a research report on Friday, March 7th. Finally, Raymond James reaffirmed a “strong-buy” rating and set a $13.00 price target (down previously from $15.00) on shares of Ardelyx in a research report on Friday, February 21st.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Michael Raab sold 41,666 shares of Ardelyx stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $5.31, for a total transaction 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 $5,997,921.12. The trade was a 3.56 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director David M. Mott purchased 199,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 21st. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $4.99 per share, for a total transaction of $993,010.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now directly owns 1,937,765 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,669,447.35. This represents a 11.44 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 158,076 shares of company stock valued at $853,804 in the last quarter. 5.90% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Ardelyx

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. GF Fund Management CO. LTD. purchased a new position in shares of Ardelyx in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Ardelyx in the 4th quarter valued at $35,000. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. acquired a new stake in shares of Ardelyx during the fourth quarter valued at about $41,000. Quarry LP acquired a new stake in Ardelyx in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $51,000. Finally, Rehmann Capital Advisory Group acquired a new position in Ardelyx during the 4th quarter worth about $51,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 58.92% of the company’s stock.

Ardelyx Price Performance

NASDAQ ARDX opened at $5.04 on Friday. Ardelyx has a 12-month low of $4.32 and a 12-month high of $9.33. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $5.40 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $5.53. The company has a current ratio of 4.58, a quick ratio of 4.31 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.87. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.20 billion, a P/E ratio of -31.50 and a beta of 0.87.

Ardelyx (NASDAQ:ARDX) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, February 20th. The biopharmaceutical company reported $0.02 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.02. Ardelyx had a negative return on equity of 24.87% and a negative net margin of 11.73%. The firm had revenue of $116.13 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $111.16 million. Analysts forecast that Ardelyx will post -0.18 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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.