Ardelyx, Inc. (NASDAQ:ARDX) Given Average Recommendation of “Buy” by Brokerages

Ardelyx, Inc. (NASDAQ:ARDX) has been given an average recommendation of “Buy” by the ten ratings firms that are covering the stock, MarketBeat reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold recommendation, seven have given a buy recommendation and two have given a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 1-year target price among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $11.70.

Several brokerages recently commented on ARDX. UBS Group set a $12.00 target price on Ardelyx in a report on Tuesday, August 5th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Ardelyx from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, August 9th. HC Wainwright began coverage on Ardelyx in a report on Wednesday, June 18th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $10.00 target price on the stock. Wedbush reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $14.00 target price (up from $13.00) on shares of Ardelyx in a report on Tuesday, August 5th. Finally, Raymond James Financial began coverage on Ardelyx in a report on Wednesday, September 3rd. They issued a “strong-buy” rating and a $14.00 target price on the stock.

Ardelyx Stock Performance

Ardelyx stock opened at $6.61 on Friday. The business has a 50 day moving average of $5.37 and a 200-day moving average of $4.75. Ardelyx has a 1 year low of $3.21 and a 1 year high of $7.18. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.44, a current ratio of 4.30 and a quick ratio of 4.03. The company has a market capitalization of $1.59 billion, a P/E ratio of -28.74 and a beta of 0.74.

Ardelyx (NASDAQ:ARDX) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, August 4th. The biopharmaceutical company reported ($0.08) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.13) by $0.05. Ardelyx had a negative return on equity of 36.57% and a negative net margin of 14.60%.The company had revenue of $97.66 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $82.69 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted ($0.07) earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 23.0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts predict that Ardelyx will post -0.18 earnings per share for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO Michael Raab sold 45,687 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $5.93, for a total value of $270,923.91. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 1,502,250 shares in the company, valued at $8,908,342.50. This represents a 2.95% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Eric Duane Foster sold 15,308 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $5.93, for a total value of $90,776.44. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 301,498 shares in the company, valued at $1,787,883.14. The trade was a 4.83% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 165,551 shares of company stock valued at $996,917 over the last three months. Insiders own 4.80% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Ardelyx

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. GF Fund Management CO. LTD. bought a new position in shares of Ardelyx during the 4th quarter worth approximately $25,000. DCF Advisers LLC bought a new position in shares of Ardelyx during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $39,000. Brighton Jones LLC bought a new position in shares of Ardelyx during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $40,000. Cyndeo Wealth Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of Ardelyx during the 1st quarter worth approximately $49,000. Finally, Focus Partners Advisor Solutions LLC bought a new position in shares of Ardelyx during the 1st quarter worth approximately $56,000. 58.92% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.