Analysts Set Ardelyx, Inc. (NASDAQ:ARDX) Target Price at $11.70

Key Points

• Ardelyx, Inc. has received an average recommendation of "Buy" from ten ratings firms, with a consensus target price of $11.70 for the next year.
• The company reported a revenue of $97.66 million for the latest quarter, exceeding estimates by $14.97 million, with earnings per share of ($0.08), surpassing the consensus estimate.
• Insider trading showed significant activity, with CEO Michael Raab selling 45,687 shares for approximately $270,924, reducing his ownership by 2.95%.

Shares of Ardelyx, Inc. (NASDAQ:ARDX - Get Free Report) have earned an average rating of "Buy" from the ten ratings firms that are currently covering the stock, Marketbeat.com reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold recommendation, seven have assigned a buy recommendation and two have assigned 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 $11.70.

A number of research analysts have commented on ARDX shares. Piper Sandler increased their target price on 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 target on Ardelyx in a research report on Tuesday, August 5th. Raymond James Financial assumed coverage on Ardelyx in a research report on Wednesday, September 3rd. They set a "strong-buy" rating and a $14.00 price target on the stock. Wall Street Zen upgraded Ardelyx from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, August 9th. Finally, HC Wainwright assumed coverage on Ardelyx in a research report on Wednesday, June 18th. They set a "buy" rating and a $10.00 price target on the stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Ardelyx

In related news, insider Eric Duane Foster sold 15,308 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 value of $90,776.44. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 301,498 shares in the company, valued at $1,787,883.14. This trade represents a 4.83% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Mike Kelliher sold 5,417 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 value of $32,122.81. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 276,741 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,641,074.13. This represents a 1.92% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 165,551 shares of company stock worth $996,917. Corporate insiders own 4.80% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Ardelyx

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in ARDX. Millennium Management LLC increased its position in Ardelyx by 118.2% in the 1st quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 6,465,262 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $31,744,000 after acquiring an additional 3,501,782 shares during the period. Nuveen LLC acquired a new stake in Ardelyx in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $16,735,000. Marshall Wace LLP increased its position in Ardelyx by 34.2% in the 2nd quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 11,250,652 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $44,103,000 after acquiring an additional 2,866,843 shares during the period. Bank of America Corp DE increased its position in Ardelyx by 88.8% in the 2nd quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 5,527,988 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $21,670,000 after acquiring an additional 2,600,080 shares during the period. Finally, Two Seas Capital LP acquired a new stake in Ardelyx in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $9,407,000. 58.92% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Ardelyx Stock Performance

NASDAQ:ARDX traded up $0.23 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $6.42. 3,170,782 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,897,631. The company has a quick ratio of 4.03, a current ratio of 4.30 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.44. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $5.52 and a 200-day simple moving average of $4.79. Ardelyx has a 52 week low of $3.21 and a 52 week high of $7.18. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.55 billion, a P/E ratio of -27.91 and a beta of 0.74.

Ardelyx (NASDAQ:ARDX - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Monday, August 4th. The biopharmaceutical company reported ($0.08) EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates 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 for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $82.69 million. During the same quarter last year, the business posted ($0.07) EPS. Ardelyx's quarterly revenue was up 23.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Ardelyx will post -0.18 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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.