Ardelyx (NASDAQ:ARDX) Given Outperform Rating at Wedbush

Wedbush reaffirmed their outperform rating on shares of Ardelyx (NASDAQ:ARDX) in a research report sent to investors on Monday morning,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a $19.00 target price on the biopharmaceutical company’s stock.

Other analysts have also recently issued reports about the company. Weiss Ratings restated a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Ardelyx in a research note on Wednesday, January 21st. TD Cowen reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Ardelyx in a report on Thursday, January 29th. Jefferies Financial Group reissued a “buy” rating and set a $15.00 target price on shares of Ardelyx in a research report on Tuesday, January 27th. Piper Sandler raised Ardelyx from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and upped their price target for the company from $10.00 to $16.00 in a report on Thursday, January 8th. Finally, HC Wainwright increased their price target on shares of Ardelyx from $10.00 to $18.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have issued a Buy rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $15.09.

Ardelyx Stock Up 0.3%

Shares of Ardelyx stock opened at $5.75 on Monday. The company has a quick ratio of 4.11, a current ratio of 4.31 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21. Ardelyx has a 52-week low of $3.21 and a 52-week high of $8.40. The company has a market capitalization of $1.41 billion, a P/E ratio of -23.00 and a beta of 0.57. The company has a 50 day moving average of $6.76 and a 200 day moving average of $6.13.

Ardelyx (NASDAQ:ARDX) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 19th. The biopharmaceutical company reported ($0.01) earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.02 by ($0.03). The firm had revenue of $125.22 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $118.04 million. Ardelyx had a negative net margin of 15.12% and a negative return on equity of 40.63%. Ardelyx’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.02 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts forecast that Ardelyx will post -0.18 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Ardelyx news, Director David M. Mott acquired 333,333 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 20th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $5.84 per share, for a total transaction of $1,946,664.72. Following the completion of the purchase, the director owned 3,302,918 shares in the company, valued at $19,289,041.12. This trade represents a 11.22% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Michael Raab sold 45,982 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $5.85, for a total transaction of $268,994.70. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 1,856,986 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $10,863,368.10. The trade was a 2.42% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 136,938 shares of company stock worth $857,587. Corporate insiders own 4.80% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Ardelyx

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Marshall Wace LLP lifted its position in Ardelyx by 34.2% during the 2nd quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 11,250,652 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $44,103,000 after acquiring an additional 2,866,843 shares during the period. Squarepoint Ops LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Ardelyx during the second quarter worth approximately $708,000. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd raised its stake in shares of Ardelyx by 488.0% during the third quarter. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd now owns 306,547 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $1,689,000 after purchasing an additional 254,417 shares during the last quarter. Stonepine Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Ardelyx during the second quarter worth $2,176,000. Finally, AIGH Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in Ardelyx in the 3rd quarter valued at $1,094,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 58.92% of the company’s stock.

More Ardelyx News

Here are the key news stories impacting Ardelyx this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Director David M. Mott purchased 333,333 shares (~$1.95M) at about $5.84, increasing his stake by ~11.2% — a strong insider vote of confidence that can support the stock. SEC Filing: Director Purchase
• Positive Sentiment: Wedbush reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $19 price target (large upside vs. current levels), which can attract buyers and boost sentiment. Wedbush Note via Benzinga
• Positive Sentiment: Other firms reiterated bullish views (BTIG buy rating; HC Wainwright optimistic on FY2026 earnings), reinforcing analyst support that can sustain buying interest. BTIG Reiteration HC Wainwright Note
• Neutral Sentiment: Quarterly revenue beat estimates ($125.2M vs. $118.0M) and year-over-year revenue growth of ~7.8% — a constructive fundamental datapoint, though offset by an EPS miss. (Earnings release was on Feb 19.)
• Negative Sentiment: Earnings EPS missed expectations (reported a loss vs. small expected profit), which triggered a sell-off (shares were reported down ~10.4% after the earnings release). EPS misses typically pressure sentiment and can lead to continued volatility. Earnings Reaction
• Negative Sentiment: Multiple insiders — including the CEO, CFO and several executives — sold shares on Feb 20 (notably the CEO sold ~45,982 shares). Clustered insider selling can be read as profit-taking or reduced insider conviction and may weigh on sentiment. (These sales occurred near $5.85.) SEC Filing: CEO Sale

Ardelyx Company Profile

Ardelyx, Inc (NASDAQ: ARDX) is a clinical‐stage biopharmaceutical company focused on discovering, developing and commercializing targeted small molecule drugs for cardio‐renal and gastrointestinal diseases. The company’s lead marketed product, tenapanor (sold under the brand name XPHOZAH in the United States), is approved for the treatment of hyperphosphatemia in patients with chronic kidney disease on dialysis. Ardelyx’s proprietary approach targets epithelial transporters in the gastrointestinal tract, offering localized activity with limited systemic exposure.

Beyond tenapanor, Ardelyx’s development pipeline includes treatments designed to address other complications in kidney disease and related metabolic disorders.