Ardelyx (NASDAQ:ARDX) Stock Rating Lowered by Raymond James

Ardelyx (NASDAQ:ARDX) was downgraded by research analysts at Raymond James from a “strong-buy” rating to an “outperform” rating in a report released on Friday, Marketbeat.com reports. They presently have a $11.00 target price on the biopharmaceutical company’s stock. Raymond James’ price target would suggest a potential upside of 166.34% from the company’s previous close.

A number of other equities research analysts have also issued reports on ARDX. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH reissued a “buy” rating and set a $11.00 price target on shares of Ardelyx in a research note on Friday, March 7th. Jefferies Financial Group lowered their target price on shares of Ardelyx from $11.00 to $8.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, January 2nd. HC Wainwright reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $5.50 price target on shares of Ardelyx in a research note on Friday, February 21st. BTIG Research assumed coverage on shares of Ardelyx in a research report on Tuesday, March 4th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $14.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald raised shares of Ardelyx to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 4th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $10.39.

Ardelyx Price Performance

Shares of Ardelyx stock opened at $4.13 on Friday. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $5.00 and a 200-day moving average price of $5.25. Ardelyx has a one year low of $4.02 and a one year high of $9.33. The stock has a market cap of $984.41 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -25.81 and a beta of 0.76. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.87, a quick ratio of 4.31 and a current ratio of 4.58.

Ardelyx (NASDAQ:ARDX) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The biopharmaceutical company reported ($0.17) earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.10) by ($0.07). The firm had revenue of $74.11 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $79.40 million. Ardelyx had a negative net margin of 11.73% and a negative return on equity of 24.87%. The company’s revenue was up 61.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted ($0.11) EPS. Equities analysts expect that Ardelyx will post -0.18 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Ardelyx

In other Ardelyx news, insider Laura A. Williams sold 4,941 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $5.62, for a total transaction of $27,768.42. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 303,804 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,707,378.48. This represents a 1.60 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Michael Raab sold 22,964 shares of Ardelyx stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $5.62, for a total transaction of $129,057.68. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 1,085,755 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,101,943.10. The trade was a 2.07 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 116,410 shares of company stock valued at $600,475. 5.90% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Ensign Peak Advisors Inc lifted its stake in Ardelyx by 3.1% during the 4th quarter. Ensign Peak Advisors Inc now owns 73,950 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $375,000 after acquiring an additional 2,200 shares during the period. B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. grew its position in Ardelyx by 3.4% during the 3rd quarter. B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 90,000 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $599,000 after purchasing an additional 3,000 shares during the period. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. raised its stake in shares of Ardelyx by 2.3% during the 4th quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 154,625 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $788,000 after buying an additional 3,550 shares during the last quarter. Swiss National Bank lifted its holdings in shares of Ardelyx by 1.0% in the 4th quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 463,100 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $2,348,000 after buying an additional 4,800 shares during the period. Finally, Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC boosted its stake in shares of Ardelyx by 42.7% in the fourth quarter. Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC now owns 16,486 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $84,000 after buying an additional 4,933 shares during the last quarter. 58.92% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Ardelyx Company Profile

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.