Ardelyx (NASDAQ:ARDX) Cut to Outperform at Raymond James

Ardelyx (NASDAQ:ARDX - Get Free Report) was downgraded by equities researchers at Raymond James from a "strong-buy" rating to an "outperform" rating in a note issued to investors on Friday, MarketBeat reports. They currently have a $11.00 price target on the biopharmaceutical company's stock. Raymond James' target price suggests a potential upside of 194.51% from the company's current price.

A number of other research firms also recently commented on ARDX. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH reaffirmed a "buy" rating and issued a $11.00 target price on shares of Ardelyx in a research report on Friday, March 7th. BTIG Research began coverage on Ardelyx in a report on Tuesday, March 4th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $14.00 target price on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group reduced their price target on shares of Ardelyx from $11.00 to $8.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, January 2nd. Cantor Fitzgerald raised shares of Ardelyx to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, March 4th. Finally, Scotiabank assumed coverage on shares of Ardelyx in a research note on Friday, March 7th. They set a "sector outperform" rating and a $15.00 price target on the stock. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Ardelyx currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $10.39.

Ardelyx Stock Down 5.4 %

NASDAQ ARDX traded down $0.22 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $3.74. The stock had a trading volume of 2,586,106 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,369,622. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $4.95 and a 200 day moving average price of $5.22. 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 1 year low of $3.62 and a 1 year high of $9.33. The stock has a market cap of $893.62 million, a PE ratio of -23.34 and a beta of 0.76.

Ardelyx (NASDAQ:ARDX - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The biopharmaceutical company reported ($0.17) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.10) by ($0.07). Ardelyx had a negative net margin of 11.73% and a negative return on equity of 24.87%. The business 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 company earned ($0.11) earnings per share. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 61.1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts expect that Ardelyx will post -0.18 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Ardelyx

In other Ardelyx news, insider Laura A. Williams sold 4,941 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $5.62, for a total transaction of $27,768.42. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 303,804 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,707,378.48. The trade was a 1.60 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, Director David M. Mott acquired 77,729 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 24th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $5.00 per share, with a total value of $388,645.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now directly owns 2,015,494 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,077,470. The trade was a 4.01 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders have sold 158,076 shares of company stock valued at $777,555 in the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 5.90% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Ardelyx

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. GF Fund Management CO. LTD. bought a new position in shares of Ardelyx during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Ardelyx during the fourth quarter worth $35,000. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. purchased a new stake in shares of Ardelyx during the fourth quarter valued at $41,000. Cyndeo Wealth Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of Ardelyx in the first quarter worth about $49,000. Finally, Quarry LP purchased a new position in Ardelyx in the 4th quarter worth about $51,000. Institutional investors own 58.92% of the company's stock.

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.