TD Cowen Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation for Ardelyx (NASDAQ:ARDX) Stock

Ardelyx (NASDAQ:ARDX) had its price target hoisted by research analysts at TD Cowen from $9.00 to $10.00 in a research note issued to investors on Friday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has a “buy” rating on the biopharmaceutical company’s stock. TD Cowen’s target price would suggest a potential upside of 65.02% from the company’s previous close.

Several other brokerages have also recently weighed in on ARDX. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Ardelyx from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, August 9th. Piper Sandler raised their price objective on shares of Ardelyx from $8.00 to $9.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 6th. UBS Group set a $12.00 price objective on shares of Ardelyx in a report on Tuesday, August 5th. Raymond James Financial initiated coverage on shares of Ardelyx in a report on Wednesday, September 3rd. They set a “strong-buy” rating and a $14.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Cowen reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Ardelyx in a report on Friday. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have issued a Buy rating, one has issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $11.55.

Ardelyx Stock Up 21.0%

Shares of NASDAQ:ARDX opened at $6.06 on Friday. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $5.76 and its 200 day moving average price is $4.86. The stock has a market cap of $1.46 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -26.35 and a beta of 0.67. Ardelyx has a fifty-two week low of $3.21 and a fifty-two week high of $6.78. The company has a quick ratio of 4.03, a current ratio of 4.30 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.44.

Ardelyx (NASDAQ:ARDX) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, October 30th. The biopharmaceutical company reported $0.00 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.06) by $0.06. The firm had revenue of $110.33 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $100.44 million. Ardelyx had a negative net margin of 14.60% and a negative return on equity of 36.57%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 14.6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Ardelyx will post -0.18 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Ardelyx

In other news, CFO Justin A. Renz sold 7,037 shares of the firm’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 transaction of $41,729.41. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 409,052 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,425,678.36. This trade represents a 1.69% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Michael Raab sold 45,687 shares of the firm’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 transaction of $270,923.91. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 1,502,250 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,908,342.50. This trade represents a 2.95% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last quarter, insiders sold 165,551 shares of company stock valued at $996,917. 4.80% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Ardelyx

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. DCF Advisers LLC purchased a new position in shares of Ardelyx during the second quarter worth approximately $39,000. Brighton Jones LLC purchased a new position in Ardelyx in the 2nd quarter valued at $40,000. Focus Partners Advisor Solutions LLC purchased a new position in Ardelyx in the 1st quarter valued at $56,000. Vontobel Holding Ltd. purchased a new position in Ardelyx in the 3rd quarter valued at $63,000. Finally, CHICAGO TRUST Co NA purchased a new position in Ardelyx in the 3rd quarter valued at $73,000. 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.