Analysts Set Ardelyx, Inc. (NASDAQ:ARDX) Target Price at $10.39

Shares of Ardelyx, Inc. (NASDAQ:ARDX - Get Free Report) have received an average recommendation of "Moderate Buy" from the ten brokerages that are presently covering the stock, Marketbeat.com reports. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. The average 12-month target price among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $10.39.

Several research analysts recently issued reports on the company. BTIG Research started coverage on Ardelyx in a research report on Tuesday, March 4th. They set a "buy" rating and a $14.00 target price for the company. HC Wainwright reissued a "neutral" rating and set a $5.50 target price on shares of Ardelyx in a research report on Friday, February 21st. Piper Sandler raised Ardelyx to a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 12th. Scotiabank started coverage on shares of Ardelyx in a research report on Friday, March 7th. They set a "sector outperform" rating and a $15.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Citigroup reduced 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.

Ardelyx Price Performance

Shares of ARDX stock traded down $0.09 on Friday, reaching $3.53. The company had a trading volume of 6,264,580 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,387,806. The business's 50-day moving average is $4.85 and its 200 day moving average is $5.17. Ardelyx has a one year low of $3.50 and a one year high of $8.14. The company has a quick ratio of 4.31, a current ratio of 4.58 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.87. The stock has a market capitalization of $844.57 million, a PE ratio of -22.06 and a beta of 0.76.

Ardelyx (NASDAQ:ARDX - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The biopharmaceutical company reported ($0.17) earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.10) by ($0.07). Ardelyx had a negative return on equity of 24.87% and a negative net margin of 11.73%. The company had revenue of $74.11 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $79.40 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted ($0.11) EPS. The business's quarterly revenue was up 61.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts forecast that Ardelyx will post -0.18 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director David M. Mott acquired 381,377 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 2nd. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $4.22 per share, for a total transaction of $1,609,410.94. Following the acquisition, the director now owns 2,396,871 shares of the company's stock, valued at $10,114,795.62. This trade represents a 18.92% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Michael Raab sold 41,666 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Friday, May 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $4.25, for a total transaction of $177,080.50. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,594,754 shares of the company's stock, valued at $6,777,704.50. This represents a 2.55% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 158,076 shares of company stock valued at $777,555 over the last ninety days. 5.90% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Ardelyx

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of ARDX. Barclays PLC grew its position in Ardelyx by 24.9% during the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 547,325 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $3,770,000 after buying an additional 109,285 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its position in shares of Ardelyx by 1.6% during the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 387,144 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $2,667,000 after purchasing an additional 6,093 shares in the last quarter. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. increased its stake in Ardelyx by 25.5% during the fourth quarter. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. now owns 808,392 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock worth $4,099,000 after acquiring an additional 164,480 shares during the last quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Ardelyx by 41.8% in the 4th quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 54,886 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock worth $278,000 after acquiring an additional 16,182 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Inspire Investing LLC lifted its position in shares of Ardelyx by 32.8% during the fourth quarter. Inspire Investing LLC now owns 79,423 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock worth $403,000 after purchasing an additional 19,630 shares during the last quarter. 58.92% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.