Aardvark Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:AARD) Stock Has Average Price Target of $13.12

Aardvark Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:AARD) has received a consensus recommendation of “Hold” from the eleven brokerages that are currently covering the firm, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation, four have assigned a hold recommendation, four have issued a buy recommendation and one has given a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 12-month price objective among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $11.89.

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on the stock. Royal Bank Of Canada reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating and issued a $6.00 target price on shares of Aardvark Therapeutics in a research note on Thursday, September 24th. BTIG Research restated a “neutral” rating on shares of Aardvark Therapeutics in a research report on Monday, October 12th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Aardvark Therapeutics in a report on Tuesday, September 29th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Aardvark Therapeutics from a “strong sell” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Saturday, August 15th. Finally, HC Wainwright lowered their target price on Aardvark Therapeutics from $6.00 to $4.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Monday.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Nelson Sun sold 62,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $5.18, for a total value of $321,160.00. Following the transaction, the insider owned 35,475 shares in the company, valued at $183,760.50. This trade represents a 63.61% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 17.80% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Aardvark Therapeutics

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its stake in shares of Aardvark Therapeutics by 30.8% in the 1st quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 29,320 shares of the company’s stock valued at $111,000 after purchasing an additional 6,905 shares during the last quarter. Susquehanna International Group LLP acquired a new stake in shares of Aardvark Therapeutics during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $138,000. Ieq Capital LLC bought a new stake in shares of Aardvark Therapeutics during the second quarter worth approximately $221,000. J. Goldman & Co LP bought a new stake in shares of Aardvark Therapeutics during the second quarter worth approximately $233,000. Finally, Renaissance Technologies LLC bought a new stake in shares of Aardvark Therapeutics during the first quarter worth approximately $267,000.

Aardvark Therapeutics Stock Performance

Aardvark Therapeutics stock opened at $3.95 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $86.43 million, a P/E ratio of -1.23 and a beta of 3.80. The business’s fifty day moving average is $5.36 and its two-hundred day moving average is $5.29. Aardvark Therapeutics has a 52 week low of $3.35 and a 52 week high of $16.60.

Aardvark Therapeutics (NASDAQ:AARD) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, August 11th. The company reported ($0.66) earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.87) by $0.21. On average, equities research analysts predict that Aardvark Therapeutics will post -3.05 earnings per share for the current year.

Key Stories Impacting Aardvark Therapeutics

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

• Positive Sentiment: The FDA lifted the clinical hold on ARD-101, allowing Aardvark to potentially resume clinical development for hyperphagia associated with Prader-Willi syndrome. The decision removes a major regulatory obstacle and was the key catalyst behind the stock’s increase. Aardvark Therapeutics Announces FDA Has Lifted the Clinical Hold on ARD-101
• Positive Sentiment: The company plans to host a webcast on October 23 to review available data from the terminated Phase 3 HERO trial and its open-label extension study. Additional details about the dataset could influence expectations for ARD-101’s future development.
• Positive Sentiment: HC Wainwright recently improved several Aardvark earnings forecasts, including FY2026 EPS to a loss of $2.69 from a projected loss of $3.80 and FY2027 EPS to a loss of $1.74 from $1.98. The revisions suggest lower anticipated losses, although the firm maintained a Neutral rating.
• Neutral Sentiment: Trading in AARD was temporarily halted for pending news before the FDA announcement, highlighting the market’s sensitivity to updates on the company’s clinical pipeline.
• Negative Sentiment: Aardvark remains an unprofitable, clinical-stage biotechnology company. HC Wainwright’s $4.00 price target and Neutral rating indicate limited near-term upside at the recently cited trading level, while the company still faces clinical, regulatory and financing risks.

About Aardvark Therapeutics

Aardvark Therapeutics, Inc is a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company based in San Diego, California. The company develops novel therapies for obesity and other metabolic diseases, with a focus on treatments designed to regulate appetite and food intake.

Its lead investigational product, AARD-001, is an orally administered small-molecule candidate intended to activate bitter taste receptors and stimulate signaling pathways in the gastrointestinal tract that may influence appetite and satiety.