Aardvark Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:AARD) Stock Rated “Hold” by Sell-Side Brokerages

Aardvark Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:AARD) has earned an average rating of “Hold” from the eleven brokerages that are currently covering the stock, Marketbeat reports. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating, four have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating on the company. The average twelve-month target price among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $11.50.

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on AARD shares. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Aardvark Therapeutics in a research note on Tuesday, September 29th. Wall Street Zen raised Aardvark Therapeutics from a “strong sell” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Saturday, August 15th. Royal Bank Of Canada set a $2.50 price target on Aardvark Therapeutics in a research report on Friday. UBS Group set a $4.00 price target on Aardvark Therapeutics in a report on Monday, October 19th. Finally, BTIG Research restated a “neutral” rating on shares of Aardvark Therapeutics in a report on Monday, October 12th.

Trending Headlines about Aardvark Therapeutics

Here are the key news stories impacting Aardvark Therapeutics this week:

• Positive Sentiment: The FDA lifted the clinical hold on ARD-101 for hyperphagia associated with Prader-Willi syndrome (PWS), allowing Aardvark to consider resuming clinical development. The company said the PWS program is targeting potential advancement in 2027. Aardvark announces FDA has lifted the clinical hold on ARD-101
• Positive Sentiment: Removal of the hold indicates that safety concerns identified by regulators were addressed sufficiently for the program to move forward, improving the outlook for ARD-101’s development. FDA clears Aardvark’s Prader-Willi study
• Neutral Sentiment: Aardvark reported exploratory efficacy and safety data from the previously terminated Phase 3 HERO trial and its open-label extension. The company is using the combined dataset to determine the path forward for ARD-101, but the results do not yet represent a new successful Phase 3 outcome. Aardvark reports exploratory HERO and open-label extension data
• Negative Sentiment: The market reaction indicates that investors viewed the Phase 3-related data and the prior trial termination as more important than the FDA hold lift, raising concerns about ARD-101’s efficacy, development timeline and need for additional studies. Aardvark shares drop after Phase 3 trial results
• Negative Sentiment: Repeated LULD and news-pending trading pauses underscore unusually high volatility as traders reassessed the company’s clinical prospects. AARD was trading near its 12-month low, with volume far above average.

Insider Activity at Aardvark Therapeutics

In other news, insider Nelson Sun sold 62,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, September 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $5.18, for a total value of $321,160.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 35,475 shares in the company, valued at approximately $183,760.50. This represents a 63.61% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Insiders own 17.80% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Aardvark Therapeutics

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. BlackRock Inc. purchased a new position in Aardvark Therapeutics in the 2nd quarter valued at about $1,077,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its stake in shares of Aardvark Therapeutics by 30.8% during the first quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 29,320 shares of the company’s stock valued at $111,000 after acquiring an additional 6,905 shares in the last quarter. Ieq Capital LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Aardvark Therapeutics during the second quarter valued at about $221,000. Renaissance Technologies LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Aardvark Therapeutics during the first quarter worth about $267,000. Finally, J. Goldman & Co LP purchased a new stake in shares of Aardvark Therapeutics during the second quarter worth about $233,000.

Aardvark Therapeutics Trading Down 64.8%

Shares of NASDAQ AARD opened at $1.39 on Friday. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $5.26 and a 200 day moving average price of $5.27. Aardvark Therapeutics has a 12-month low of $1.39 and a 12-month high of $16.60. The company has a market cap of $30.42 million, a P/E ratio of -0.43 and a beta of 3.80.

Aardvark Therapeutics (NASDAQ:AARD) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 11th. The company reported ($0.66) EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.87) by $0.21. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Aardvark Therapeutics will post -3.05 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Aardvark Therapeutics Company Profile

Aardvark Therapeutics, Inc is a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company focused on developing oral therapies for metabolic diseases and other conditions involving appetite regulation. The company’s approach is based on activating bitter taste receptors in the gastrointestinal tract to stimulate the release of gut hormones associated with satiety and metabolic control.

Aardvark’s lead investigational product, ARD-101, is an orally administered, broad-spectrum bitter taste receptor agonist.