Ardelyx (NASDAQ:ARDX) PT Raised to $12.00

Ardelyx (NASDAQ:ARDX) had its price objective boosted by analysts at Citigroup from $10.00 to $12.00 in a report issued on Friday, Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has a “buy” rating on the biopharmaceutical company’s stock. Citigroup’s price target would suggest a potential upside of 103.05% from the company’s previous close.

ARDX has been the topic of several other reports. HC Wainwright restated a “buy” rating and issued a $10.00 price objective on shares of Ardelyx in a research report on Thursday, July 18th. Leerink Partnrs reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Ardelyx in a report on Friday, April 5th. StockNews.com raised shares of Ardelyx from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday. Cantor Fitzgerald reissued an “overweight” rating on shares of Ardelyx in a research note on Thursday, June 20th. Finally, Wedbush reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $11.00 price target on shares of Ardelyx in a research note on Friday. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Ardelyx has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $10.94.

Ardelyx Price Performance

NASDAQ ARDX traded up $0.41 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $5.91. The company had a trading volume of 5,557,347 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,580,436. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $6.12 and a 200 day simple moving average of $7.43. Ardelyx has a 52 week low of $3.16 and a 52 week high of $10.13. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.38 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -21.11 and a beta of 0.83. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66, a quick ratio of 4.36 and a current ratio of 4.53.

Ardelyx (NASDAQ:ARDX) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 1st. The biopharmaceutical company reported ($0.07) EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.10) by $0.03. Ardelyx had a negative net margin of 41.36% and a negative return on equity of 41.65%. The company had revenue of $73.20 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $55.03 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned ($0.08) earnings per share. Ardelyx’s revenue for the quarter was up 228.3% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts expect that Ardelyx will post -0.34 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity at Ardelyx

In related news, insider Robert Ora Felsch sold 207,988 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $8.81, for a total value of $1,832,374.28. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 95,947 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $845,293.07. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. In related news, CEO Michael Raab sold 7,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $6.72, for a total value of $50,400.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,270,273 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,536,234.56. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Robert Ora Felsch sold 207,988 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $8.81, for a total transaction of $1,832,374.28. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 95,947 shares in the company, valued at approximately $845,293.07. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 494,170 shares of company stock worth $3,752,676 over the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 5.50% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Ardelyx

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in ARDX. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Ardelyx by 0.9% in the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 11,565,800 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $47,188,000 after purchasing an additional 97,951 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James & Associates bought a new stake in shares of Ardelyx during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $98,000. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. raised its holdings in Ardelyx by 59.0% in the 4th quarter. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. now owns 91,302 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $566,000 after acquiring an additional 33,877 shares during the last quarter. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. boosted its stake in Ardelyx by 380.2% during the 4th quarter. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 26,851 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $166,000 after purchasing an additional 21,259 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. raised its stake in shares of Ardelyx by 8.7% in the fourth quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 152,389 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $945,000 after purchasing an additional 12,208 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors 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.