Brokerages Set Ardelyx, Inc. (NASDAQ:ARDX) Price Target at $15.73

Ardelyx, Inc. (NASDAQ:ARDX) has received a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the eleven brokerages that are currently covering the firm, Marketbeat Ratings reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating on the company. The average 12-month price objective among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $15.7273.

Several analysts recently issued reports on the company. Weiss Ratings downgraded Ardelyx from a “sell (d-)” rating to a “sell (e+)” rating in a report on Monday, June 29th. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH assumed coverage on Ardelyx in a research note on Tuesday, June 16th. They set a “buy” rating and a $16.00 price objective for the company.

Ardelyx Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:ARDX opened at $5.13 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $1.27 billion, a PE ratio of -22.30 and a beta of 0.61. Ardelyx has a fifty-two week low of $4.07 and a fifty-two week high of $8.40. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $5.80 and a 200 day simple moving average of $6.24. The company has a quick ratio of 3.28, a current ratio of 3.49 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.37.

Ardelyx (NASDAQ:ARDX) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The biopharmaceutical company reported ($0.15) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.13) by ($0.02). The business had revenue of $94.47 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $92.78 million. Ardelyx had a negative return on equity of 38.11% and a negative net margin of 13.58%.The business’s revenue was up 27.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned ($0.17) EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Ardelyx will post -0.08 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other Ardelyx news, insider Eric Duane Foster sold 7,998 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $6.27, for a total transaction of $50,147.46. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 417,972 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,620,684.44. The trade was a 1.88% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Mike Kelliher sold 7,248 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $6.27, for a total transaction of $45,444.96. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 357,418 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,241,010.86. This trade represents a 1.99% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold 24,572 shares of company stock valued at $154,066 in the last 90 days. Insiders own 5.30% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Ardelyx

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. increased its position in Ardelyx by 21.0% in the 2nd quarter. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. now owns 1,211,690 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $6,180,000 after acquiring an additional 210,209 shares during the period. GK Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Ardelyx in the second quarter worth $208,000. PVG Asset Management Corp acquired a new position in shares of Ardelyx during the first quarter valued at $65,000. Bank of America Corp DE increased its holdings in shares of Ardelyx by 5.8% during the first quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 2,336,994 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $13,999,000 after purchasing an additional 128,301 shares during the period. Finally, ADAR1 Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Ardelyx during the first quarter valued at about $143,000. 58.92% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Ardelyx

Ardelyx, Inc (NASDAQ: ARDX) is a clinical‐stage biopharmaceutical company focused on discovering, developing and commercializing targeted small molecule drugs for cardio‐renal and gastrointestinal diseases. The company’s lead marketed product, tenapanor (sold under the brand name XPHOZAH in the United States), is approved for the treatment of hyperphosphatemia in patients with chronic kidney disease on dialysis. Ardelyx’s proprietary approach targets epithelial transporters in the gastrointestinal tract, offering localized activity with limited systemic exposure.

Beyond tenapanor, Ardelyx’s development pipeline includes treatments designed to address other complications in kidney disease and related metabolic disorders.