Ardelyx’s (ARDX) Sell (D-) Rating Reiterated at Weiss Ratings

Weiss Ratings reaffirmed their sell (d-) rating on shares of Ardelyx (NASDAQ:ARDX) in a report published on Friday morning,Weiss Ratings reports.

Other equities research analysts also recently issued reports about the stock. Piper Sandler increased their price target on shares of Ardelyx from $8.00 to $9.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 6th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Ardelyx from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, August 9th. UBS Group set a $12.00 target price on shares of Ardelyx in a research note on Tuesday, August 5th. Wedbush reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $14.00 target price (up from $13.00) on shares of Ardelyx in a research note on Tuesday, August 5th. Finally, Raymond James Financial started coverage on shares of Ardelyx in a research note on Wednesday, September 3rd. They issued a “strong-buy” rating and a $14.00 target price on the stock. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have given a Buy rating, one has given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $11.70.

Ardelyx Trading Down 0.4%

Shares of Ardelyx stock opened at $5.04 on Friday. Ardelyx has a 12-month low of $3.21 and a 12-month high of $6.78. The company has a market cap of $1.21 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -21.91 and a beta of 0.67. The company has a current ratio of 4.30, a quick ratio of 4.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.44. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $5.83 and its 200-day moving average price is $4.83.

Ardelyx (NASDAQ:ARDX) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, August 4th. The biopharmaceutical company reported ($0.08) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.13) by $0.05. Ardelyx had a negative net margin of 14.60% and a negative return on equity of 36.57%. The firm had revenue of $97.66 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $82.69 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted ($0.07) earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 23.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts expect that Ardelyx will post -0.18 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other Ardelyx news, insider Eric Duane Foster sold 15,308 shares of Ardelyx stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $5.93, for a total transaction of $90,776.44. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 301,498 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,787,883.14. This trade represents a 4.83% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Laura A. Williams sold 80,000 shares of Ardelyx stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $6.12, for a total transaction of $489,600.00. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 366,322 shares in the company, valued at $2,241,890.64. This trade represents a 17.92% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 165,551 shares of company stock valued at $996,917. Insiders own 4.80% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in ARDX. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC raised its stake in shares of Ardelyx by 87.5% during the first quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 53,336 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $262,000 after acquiring an additional 24,893 shares in the last quarter. Clay Northam Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Ardelyx by 12.9% in the first quarter. Clay Northam Wealth Management LLC now owns 347,455 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $1,706,000 after purchasing an additional 39,775 shares during the last quarter. Palisades Investment Partners LLC grew its holdings in shares of Ardelyx by 1.1% in the first quarter. Palisades Investment Partners LLC now owns 523,345 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $2,569,000 after purchasing an additional 5,564 shares during the last quarter. Cerity Partners LLC grew its holdings in shares of Ardelyx by 305.3% in the first quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 73,769 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $362,000 after purchasing an additional 55,569 shares during the last quarter. Finally, CWM LLC grew its holdings in shares of Ardelyx by 4,554.4% in the first quarter. CWM LLC now owns 79,777 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $392,000 after purchasing an additional 78,063 shares during the last quarter. 58.92% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other 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.