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

Key Points

• Analyst consensus: Ten firms rate Ardelyx an overall "Moderate Buy" (1 sell, 8 buy, 1 strong buy) with an average 12‑month price target of $15.70, well above the current share price (~$5.95).
• Insider selling: Company insiders have sold 128,604 shares worth about $751,917 in the last 90 days (insiders now own 4.8%), including notable sales by Laura A. Williams and Joseph J. Reilly at roughly $5.85 per share.
• Mixed quarter: Ardelyx reported revenue of $125.22M (up 7.8% and beating estimates) but missed on EPS (‑$0.01 vs. $0.02 consensus) and remains unprofitable with negative net margin and return on equity.

Shares of Ardelyx, Inc. (NASDAQ:ARDX - Get Free Report) have been assigned an average recommendation of "Moderate Buy" from the ten ratings firms that are currently covering the company, Marketbeat.com reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, eight have given a buy recommendation and one has issued a strong buy recommendation on the company. The average twelve-month price target among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $15.70.

Several research analysts recently weighed in on ARDX shares. Jefferies Financial Group restated a "buy" rating and set a $15.00 price target on shares of Ardelyx in a research report on Tuesday, January 27th. Williams Trading set a $17.00 price target on shares of Ardelyx in a research report on Thursday, March 12th. BTIG Research restated a "buy" rating and set a $17.00 price target on shares of Ardelyx in a research report on Friday, February 20th. Piper Sandler upgraded shares of Ardelyx from a "neutral" rating to an "overweight" rating and upped their price target for the stock from $10.00 to $16.00 in a research report on Thursday, January 8th. Finally, Citigroup increased their price objective on shares of Ardelyx from $11.00 to $14.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, January 9th.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Ardelyx news, insider Laura A. Williams sold 8,176 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $5.85, for a total value of $47,829.60. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 436,082 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,551,079.70. This represents a 1.84% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Joseph James Reilly sold 4,991 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $5.85, for a total transaction of $29,197.35. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 151,790 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $887,971.50. The trade was a 3.18% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold 128,604 shares of company stock worth $751,917 in the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 4.80% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Ardelyx

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of ARDX. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. raised its holdings in Ardelyx by 2.9% in the 1st quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 159,061 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $781,000 after acquiring an additional 4,436 shares during the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. raised its holdings in Ardelyx by 10.3% in the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 2,378,738 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $11,680,000 after acquiring an additional 221,486 shares during the last quarter. Focus Partners Wealth acquired a new stake in Ardelyx in the 1st quarter valued at about $72,000. Strs Ohio acquired a new stake in Ardelyx in the 1st quarter valued at about $135,000. Finally, Legal & General Group Plc raised its holdings in Ardelyx by 13.5% in the 2nd quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 275,344 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $1,080,000 after acquiring an additional 32,738 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 58.92% of the company's stock.

Ardelyx Stock Down 0.2%

ARDX opened at $5.95 on Friday. Ardelyx has a twelve month low of $3.21 and a twelve month high of $8.40. The company has a quick ratio of 4.11, a current ratio of 4.31 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $6.07 and a 200 day moving average price of $6.12. The company has a market cap of $1.46 billion, a PE ratio of -23.80 and a beta of 0.66.

Ardelyx (NASDAQ:ARDX - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 19th. The biopharmaceutical company reported ($0.01) earnings per share 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 company had revenue of $125.22 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $118.04 million. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.02 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 7.8% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts expect that Ardelyx will post 0.01 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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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