Ardelyx, Inc. (NASDAQ:ARDX) Receives Average Rating of "Moderate Buy" from Brokerages

Key Points

• "Moderate Buy" consensus from 10 analysts (1 sell, 8 buy, 1 strong buy) with an average 1-year price target of $15.70.
• Ardelyx beat revenue estimates with Q revenues of $125.2M (vs. $118.0M est.) but missed on EPS (($0.01) vs. $0.02 est.); the stock trades near $5.99, has a $1.47B market cap and negative earnings metrics.
• Insiders have been net sellers—178,604 shares sold in the last 90 days, including a 50,000-share sale by Laura A. Williams—while institutional investors hold roughly 59% of the company.

Shares of Ardelyx, Inc. (NASDAQ:ARDX - Get Free Report) have received a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" from the ten analysts that are presently covering the firm, MarketBeat reports. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, eight have issued a buy recommendation and one has issued a strong buy recommendation on the company. The average 1 year price target among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $15.70.

A number of research firms have commented on ARDX. Citigroup lifted their price objective on shares of Ardelyx from $11.00 to $14.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, January 9th. BTIG Research reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $17.00 price target on shares of Ardelyx in a research note on Friday, February 20th. Raymond James Financial reissued a "strong-buy" rating and issued a $19.00 price target on shares of Ardelyx in a report on Thursday, January 8th. Jefferies Financial Group restated a "buy" rating and set a $15.00 price objective on shares of Ardelyx in a report on Tuesday, January 27th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reiterated a "sell (d-)" rating on shares of Ardelyx in a research note on Wednesday, January 21st.

Ardelyx Price Performance

NASDAQ:ARDX opened at $5.99 on Wednesday. Ardelyx has a 12-month low of $3.21 and a 12-month high of $8.40. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.47 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -23.96 and a beta of 0.61. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $6.58 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $6.09. 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 (NASDAQ:ARDX - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, February 19th. The biopharmaceutical company reported ($0.01) EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.02 by ($0.03). Ardelyx had a negative return on equity of 40.63% and a negative net margin of 15.12%.The business had revenue of $125.22 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $118.04 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.02 earnings per share. The business's revenue was up 7.8% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts anticipate that Ardelyx will post -0.18 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Laura A. Williams sold 50,000 shares of Ardelyx stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $6.98, for a total transaction of $349,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 361,563 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,523,709.74. This trade represents a 12.15% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Mike Kelliher sold 9,595 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 $56,130.75. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 364,666 shares in the company, valued at $2,133,296.10. This trade represents a 2.56% 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 have sold 178,604 shares of company stock worth $1,100,917. Corporate insiders own 4.80% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in ARDX. First Horizon Corp boosted its stake in shares of Ardelyx by 120.4% in the fourth quarter. First Horizon Corp now owns 7,906 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $46,000 after buying an additional 4,319 shares during the period. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. increased its stake in Ardelyx by 147.0% during the 3rd quarter. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. now owns 10,253 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock worth $56,000 after acquiring an additional 6,102 shares during the period. Swiss Life Asset Management Ltd acquired a new position in Ardelyx in the 3rd quarter valued at $57,000. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. acquired a new position in Ardelyx in the 4th quarter valued at $60,000. Finally, State of Wyoming bought a new stake in shares of Ardelyx during the 2nd quarter valued at $61,000. 58.92% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

About Ardelyx

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.

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