Ardelyx (NASDAQ:ARDX) Stock Rating Reaffirmed by Wedbush

Ardelyx (NASDAQ:ARDX)‘s stock had its “outperform” rating reiterated by stock analysts at Wedbush in a report released on Wednesday, Benzinga reports. They currently have a $7.00 target price on the biopharmaceutical company’s stock. Wedbush’s price target points to a potential upside of 50.21% from the company’s current price.

Several other equities analysts also recently issued reports on ARDX. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH lifted their price objective on Ardelyx from $7.50 to $8.50 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 3rd. Cantor Fitzgerald upgraded Ardelyx from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $5.00 to $10.00 in a report on Friday, August 25th. HC Wainwright initiated coverage on Ardelyx in a report on Thursday, September 7th. They set a “buy” rating and a $9.00 price objective for the company. Finally, StockNews.com initiated coverage on Ardelyx in a research report on Friday, August 18th. They set a “hold” rating for the company. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Ardelyx has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $8.25.

Ardelyx Price Performance

Ardelyx stock opened at $4.66 on Wednesday. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $3.92 and a 200 day simple moving average of $3.97. Ardelyx has a one year low of $1.09 and a one year high of $5.13. The company has a market capitalization of $1.02 billion, a PE ratio of -16.07 and a beta of 1.17.

Ardelyx (NASDAQ:ARDX) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 2nd. The biopharmaceutical company reported ($0.08) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.12) by $0.04. Ardelyx had a negative return on equity of 54.22% and a negative net margin of 67.69%. The firm had revenue of $22.33 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $15.88 million. Equities analysts anticipate that Ardelyx will post -0.4 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Robert Blanks sold 33,333 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, June 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $3.63, for a total transaction of $120,998.79. Following the sale, the insider now owns 266,134 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $966,066.42. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In other news, insider Robert Blanks sold 33,333 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $3.63, for a total value of $120,998.79. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 266,134 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $966,066.42. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Laura A. Williams sold 25,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $3.35, for a total value of $83,750.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 294,430 shares in the company, valued at $986,340.50. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 84,999 shares of company stock worth $302,310. Insiders own 5.50% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Ardelyx

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its stake in shares of Ardelyx by 81.1% during the first quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 549,816 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $588,000 after buying an additional 246,147 shares during the last quarter. BlackRock Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Ardelyx by 1.3% during the first quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 5,700,576 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $6,100,000 after purchasing an additional 71,592 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp increased its position in shares of Ardelyx by 7.0% during the first quarter. State Street Corp now owns 2,127,557 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $2,276,000 after acquiring an additional 139,484 shares in the last quarter. Mirabella Financial Services LLP bought a new stake in Ardelyx in the 1st quarter worth approximately $51,000. Finally, Worth Venture Partners LLC lifted its stake in shares of Ardelyx by 39.4% during the 1st quarter. Worth Venture Partners LLC now owns 768,036 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $822,000 after buying an additional 217,061 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 58.19% 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.