Ardelyx, Inc. (NASDAQ:ARDX) Receives $15.70 Average Target Price from Brokerages

Ardelyx, Inc. (NASDAQ:ARDX) has received a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the ten analysts that are currently covering the firm, MarketBeat reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, eight have assigned a buy recommendation and one has issued a strong buy recommendation on the company. The average 12-month price target among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $15.70.

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on the company. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Ardelyx in a research note on Monday, April 20th. BTIG Research reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $17.00 price objective on shares of Ardelyx in a research note on Friday, February 20th. Wedbush restated an “outperform” rating and set a $19.00 price target on shares of Ardelyx in a research note on Monday, February 23rd. TD Cowen restated a “buy” rating on shares of Ardelyx in a research note on Thursday, January 29th. Finally, Williams Trading set a $17.00 price target on Ardelyx in a research note on Thursday, March 12th.

Ardelyx Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ ARDX opened at $6.17 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 3.49, a quick ratio of 3.28 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.37. Ardelyx has a twelve month low of $3.49 and a twelve month high of $8.40. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $6.11 and a two-hundred day moving average of $6.30. The stock has a market cap of $1.52 billion, a P/E ratio of -26.82 and a beta of 0.62.

Ardelyx (NASDAQ:ARDX) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 30th. The biopharmaceutical company reported ($0.15) earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.13) by ($0.02). Ardelyx had a negative net margin of 13.58% and a negative return on equity of 38.11%. The firm had revenue of $94.47 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $92.78 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted ($0.17) EPS. Ardelyx’s quarterly revenue was up 27.5% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts forecast that Ardelyx will post -0.05 earnings per share for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Ardelyx news, insider Mike Kelliher sold 7,248 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $6.27, for a total value of $45,444.96. Following the sale, the insider owned 357,418 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,241,010.86. This represents a 1.99% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Eric Duane Foster sold 7,998 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $6.27, for a total value of $50,147.46. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 417,972 shares in the company, valued at $2,620,684.44. This trade represents a 1.88% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 66,238 shares of company stock worth $397,396. 5.30% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Ardelyx

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. First Horizon Corp boosted its stake in Ardelyx by 120.4% in the 4th quarter. First Horizon Corp now owns 7,906 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $46,000 after buying an additional 4,319 shares during the last quarter. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. raised its holdings in shares of Ardelyx by 147.0% during the 3rd quarter. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. now owns 10,253 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $56,000 after buying an additional 6,102 shares during the period. Swiss Life Asset Management Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of Ardelyx during the 3rd quarter valued at about $57,000. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. acquired a new stake in Ardelyx during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $60,000. Finally, State of Wyoming acquired a new stake in Ardelyx during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $61,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 58.92% of the company’s stock.

Ardelyx Company Profile

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.