Ardelyx, Inc. (NASDAQ:ARDX) Receives $10.39 Consensus Price Target from Brokerages

Shares of Ardelyx, Inc. (NASDAQ:ARDX - Get Free Report) have received a consensus recommendation of "Moderate Buy" from the ten ratings firms that are presently covering the stock, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating on the company. The average 1-year target price among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $10.39.

Several analysts have issued reports on the stock. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Ardelyx from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Monday, May 5th. Raymond James cut Ardelyx from a "strong-buy" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $11.00 target price for the company. in a report on Friday, May 2nd. Citigroup reduced their price target on Ardelyx from $11.00 to $10.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. Scotiabank began coverage on Ardelyx in a research report on Friday, March 7th. They issued a "sector outperform" rating and a $15.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald raised Ardelyx to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 4th.

Ardelyx Price Performance

NASDAQ ARDX traded up $0.04 during trading on Thursday, reaching $3.68. The company's stock had a trading volume of 6,917,737 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,486,542. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $4.29 and a 200 day moving average of $4.95. The stock has a market capitalization of $880.46 million, a PE ratio of -23.00 and a beta of 0.76. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.87, a current ratio of 4.58 and a quick ratio of 4.31. Ardelyx has a one year low of $3.21 and a one year high of $8.06.

Ardelyx (NASDAQ:ARDX - Get Free Report) last released 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 firm had revenue of $74.11 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $79.40 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned ($0.11) EPS. The business's quarterly revenue was up 61.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts expect that Ardelyx will post -0.18 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other Ardelyx news, CEO Michael Raab sold 41,666 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Friday, April 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $4.59, for a total transaction of $191,246.94. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,615,587 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $7,415,544.33. The trade was a 2.51% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director David M. Mott purchased 100,000 shares of Ardelyx stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 15th. The shares were bought at an average price of $3.29 per share, for a total transaction of $329,000.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 2,496,871 shares of the company's stock, valued at $8,214,705.59. This trade represents a 4.17% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 166,809 shares of company stock valued at $708,914. Company insiders own 4.80% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Ardelyx

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of ARDX. GF Fund Management CO. LTD. purchased a new stake in shares of Ardelyx during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,000. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its holdings in Ardelyx by 1,342.0% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 5,912 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock worth $290,000 after acquiring an additional 5,502 shares during the last quarter. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. bought a new stake in Ardelyx during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $35,000. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. purchased a new position in shares of Ardelyx during the 4th quarter worth $41,000. Finally, Quarry LP bought a new stake in shares of Ardelyx during the 4th quarter valued at $51,000. 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.