Ardelyx, Inc. (NASDAQ:ARDX) Given Average Rating of "Buy" by Analysts

Ardelyx, Inc. (NASDAQ:ARDX - Get Free Report) has been given a consensus recommendation of "Buy" by the ten analysts that are currently covering the firm, MarketBeat.com reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold recommendation, eight have given a buy recommendation and one has assigned a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 12 month price objective among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $10.89.

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on the company. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $11.00 price target on shares of Ardelyx in a research report on Friday, March 7th. Wall Street Zen lowered Ardelyx from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Monday, May 5th. HC Wainwright started 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. Citigroup cut their price objective 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. Finally, Scotiabank began coverage on shares of Ardelyx in a report on Friday, March 7th. They set a "sector outperform" rating and a $15.00 target price on the stock.

Insider Activity

In other Ardelyx news, insider Mike Kelliher sold 14,522 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 directly owned 282,158 shares in the company, valued at $1,151,204.64. This trade represents a 4.89% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Laura A. Williams sold 6,421 shares of Ardelyx stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $4.08, for a total transaction of $26,197.68. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 402,583 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,642,538.64. The trade was a 1.57% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have purchased 881,377 shares of company stock valued at $3,402,411 and have sold 166,809 shares valued at $708,914. 4.80% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Ardelyx

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in ARDX. GF Fund Management CO. LTD. bought a new position in shares of Ardelyx during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,000. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. purchased a new position in Ardelyx during the 4th quarter valued at $41,000. Cyndeo Wealth Partners LLC bought a new position in Ardelyx in the 1st quarter worth $49,000. Quarry LP bought a new stake in shares of Ardelyx during the 4th quarter valued at about $51,000. Finally, Rehmann Capital Advisory Group bought a new stake in shares of Ardelyx during the 4th quarter valued at about $51,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 58.92% of the company's stock.

Ardelyx Stock Performance

NASDAQ ARDX traded up $0.11 during trading hours on Monday, reaching $4.30. 2,836,022 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 4,416,302. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.03 billion, a P/E ratio of -19.52 and a beta of 0.60. The company has a quick ratio of 3.81, a current ratio of 4.12 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.04. Ardelyx has a 1 year low of $3.21 and a 1 year high of $7.18. The business's 50 day simple moving average is $3.95 and its 200-day simple moving average is $4.74.

Ardelyx (NASDAQ:ARDX - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The biopharmaceutical company reported ($0.17) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.10) by ($0.07). Ardelyx had a negative return on equity of 34.45% and a negative net margin of 14.86%. The company had revenue of $74.11 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $79.40 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned ($0.11) EPS. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 61.1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts expect that Ardelyx will post -0.18 earnings per share for the current year.

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.