Ardelyx (NASDAQ:ARDX) Earns “Buy” Rating from HC Wainwright

Ardelyx (NASDAQ:ARDX)‘s stock had its “buy” rating reaffirmed by equities researchers at HC Wainwright in a report released on Friday, Benzinga reports. They currently have a $11.00 price target on the biopharmaceutical company’s stock. HC Wainwright’s target price would suggest a potential upside of 81.22% from the company’s previous close.

Several other research firms also recently issued reports on ARDX. Wedbush reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $11.00 price objective on shares of Ardelyx in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. Citigroup boosted their target price on shares of Ardelyx from $10.00 to $12.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded Ardelyx from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $11.67.

Ardelyx Price Performance

NASDAQ:ARDX traded up $0.20 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $6.07. 6,761,365 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 4,850,536. Ardelyx has a 1-year low of $3.43 and a 1-year high of $10.13. The business has a 50 day moving average of $6.07 and a 200 day moving average of $6.33. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68, a current ratio of 4.21 and a quick ratio of 3.99. The company has a market capitalization of $1.43 billion, a P/E ratio of -22.48 and a beta of 0.90.

Ardelyx (NASDAQ:ARDX) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 1st. The biopharmaceutical company reported ($0.07) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.11) by $0.04. Ardelyx had a negative net margin of 31.02% and a negative return on equity of 39.73%. The business had revenue of $73.20 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $55.03 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned ($0.08) EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 228.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts forecast that Ardelyx will post -0.25 EPS for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Ardelyx news, insider David P. Rosenbaum sold 20,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $5.94, for a total value of $118,800.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 356,479 shares in the company, valued at $2,117,485.26. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In other news, CEO Michael Raab sold 25,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, October 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $5.91, for a total value of $147,750.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 1,210,108 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,151,738.28. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider David P. Rosenbaum sold 20,000 shares of Ardelyx stock in a transaction on Friday, August 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $5.94, for a total transaction of $118,800.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 356,479 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,117,485.26. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 212,126 shares of company stock worth $1,298,963. Corporate 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 ARDX. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. lifted its stake in Ardelyx by 64.7% in the 3rd quarter. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 45,280 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $312,000 after buying an additional 17,792 shares in the last quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC increased its holdings in Ardelyx by 34.3% in the 3rd quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 28,365 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $195,000 after purchasing an additional 7,245 shares during the last quarter. Values First Advisors Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Ardelyx by 14.6% in the 3rd quarter. Values First Advisors Inc. now owns 46,282 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $319,000 after buying an additional 5,890 shares during the period. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. lifted its holdings in Ardelyx by 9.5% during the 3rd quarter. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. now owns 643,912 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $4,437,000 after buying an additional 55,720 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Inspire Investing LLC raised its position in Ardelyx by 22.3% in the 3rd quarter. Inspire Investing LLC now owns 59,793 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $412,000 after purchasing an additional 10,912 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.