Ardelyx, Inc. (NASDAQ:ARDX) Receives Consensus Rating of “Moderate Buy” from Brokerages

Ardelyx, Inc. (NASDAQ:ARDX) has been assigned an average rating of “Moderate Buy” from the ten research firms that are currently covering the company, Marketbeat reports. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, seven have assigned a buy recommendation and one has given a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 12-month price target among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $10.39.

A number of equities research analysts have commented on the stock. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Ardelyx from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Monday, May 5th. 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 target price for the company. Citigroup cut their target price on shares of Ardelyx from $11.00 to $10.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $11.00 target price on shares of Ardelyx in a research report on Friday, March 7th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald raised shares of Ardelyx to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 4th.

Ardelyx Trading Down 6.1%

NASDAQ:ARDX opened at $3.69 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 4.58, a quick ratio of 4.31 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.87. Ardelyx has a 12 month low of $3.21 and a 12 month high of $8.06. The company has a market cap of $882.85 million, a PE ratio of -23.06 and a beta of 0.76. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $4.32 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $4.96.

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

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Laura A. Williams sold 6,421 shares of Ardelyx stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $4.08, for a total transaction of $26,197.68. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 402,583 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,642,538.64. The trade was a 1.57% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Mike Kelliher sold 14,522 shares of Ardelyx stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $4.08, for a total transaction of $59,249.76. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 282,158 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,151,204.64. This trade represents a 4.89% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 208,477 shares of company stock valued at $932,254 in the last 90 days. Company insiders own 4.80% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Millennium Management LLC lifted its stake in Ardelyx by 118.2% in the 1st quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 6,465,262 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $31,744,000 after purchasing an additional 3,501,782 shares in the last quarter. Nuveen LLC purchased a new stake in Ardelyx in the 1st quarter worth $16,735,000. Janus Henderson Group PLC lifted its stake in Ardelyx by 13.3% in the 4th quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 24,387,941 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $123,587,000 after purchasing an additional 2,858,061 shares in the last quarter. Two Seas Capital LP purchased a new stake in Ardelyx in the 4th quarter worth $9,407,000. Finally, Rock Springs Capital Management LP purchased a new stake in Ardelyx in the 4th quarter worth $7,421,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 58.92% of the company’s stock.

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.