Ardelyx (NASDAQ:ARDX) Stock Rating Upgraded by Cantor Fitzgerald

Ardelyx (NASDAQ:ARDX) was upgraded by stock analysts at Cantor Fitzgerald to a “strong-buy” rating in a note issued to investors on Thursday,Zacks.com reports.

A number of other research analysts have also recently commented on the company. Piper Sandler upped their price target on Ardelyx from $7.00 to $8.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Jefferies Financial Group cut their target price on shares of Ardelyx from $11.00 to $8.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, January 2nd. Citigroup dropped their price target on shares of Ardelyx from $12.00 to $10.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, November 4th. Finally, HC Wainwright reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $5.50 price target on shares of Ardelyx in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $9.42.

Ardelyx Stock Performance

ARDX stock opened at $5.36 on Thursday. The business has a 50 day moving average of $5.23 and a 200-day moving average of $5.64. The firm has a market cap of $1.27 billion, a PE ratio of -17.87 and a beta of 0.85. Ardelyx has a 12-month low of $4.32 and a 12-month high of $10.13. The company has a quick ratio of 3.87, a current ratio of 4.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64.

Insider Activity at Ardelyx

In other news, insider David P. Rosenbaum sold 27,172 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $5.95, for a total transaction of $161,673.40. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 153,616 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $914,015.20. The trade was a 15.03 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Michael Raab sold 31,980 shares of Ardelyx stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $4.79, for a total transaction of $153,184.20. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 1,175,385 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,630,094.15. This trade represents a 2.65 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 235,024 shares of company stock worth $1,265,096 in the last ninety days. 5.90% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in ARDX. State Street Corp grew its stake in Ardelyx by 1.5% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 12,141,850 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $83,657,000 after purchasing an additional 176,789 shares during the period. Rubric Capital Management LP grew its position in shares of Ardelyx by 68.5% in the 3rd quarter. Rubric Capital Management LP now owns 3,060,191 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $21,085,000 after buying an additional 1,243,606 shares during the period. BNP Paribas Financial Markets increased its stake in shares of Ardelyx by 274.3% in the 3rd quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 181,387 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $1,250,000 after acquiring an additional 132,928 shares in the last quarter. Vestal Point Capital LP purchased a new position in Ardelyx during the 3rd quarter valued at about $3,445,000. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its stake in Ardelyx by 1.6% during the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 387,144 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $2,667,000 after acquiring an additional 6,093 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 58.92% of the company’s stock.

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.