Ardelyx, Inc. (NASDAQ:ARDX) Given Average Recommendation of "Buy" by Analysts

Shares of Ardelyx, Inc. (NASDAQ:ARDX - Get Free Report) have been assigned an average recommendation of "Buy" from the nine analysts that are currently covering the stock, MarketBeat.com reports. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a buy recommendation and one has assigned a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 12-month price target among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $12.81.

ARDX has been the topic of several research analyst reports. StockNews.com downgraded Ardelyx from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 21st. Citigroup boosted their price target on Ardelyx from $13.00 to $14.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, May 3rd. Leerink Partnrs reaffirmed an "outperform" rating on shares of Ardelyx in a report on Friday, April 5th. Wedbush reissued an "outperform" rating and issued a $15.00 target price on shares of Ardelyx in a report on Friday. Finally, Piper Sandler restated an "overweight" rating and set a $15.00 target price on shares of Ardelyx in a research report on Friday.

Ardelyx Stock Performance

NASDAQ ARDX traded down $0.69 on Friday, reaching $6.75. 6,583,950 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 5,622,462. The company has a current ratio of 4.53, a quick ratio of 4.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66. Ardelyx has a one year low of $3.16 and a one year high of $10.13. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.57 billion, a PE ratio of -24.11 and a beta of 0.87. The company's 50-day simple moving average is $7.38 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $7.28.

Ardelyx (NASDAQ:ARDX - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 2nd. The biopharmaceutical company reported ($0.11) EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.13) by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $46.00 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $36.40 million. Ardelyx had a negative net margin of 41.36% and a negative return on equity of 41.65%. The company's revenue was up 303.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned ($0.13) EPS. Analysts expect that Ardelyx will post -0.36 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Ardelyx

In other news, insider Elizabeth A. Grammer sold 86,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $7.73, for a total value of $664,780.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 312,993 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,419,435.89. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In other news, insider Elizabeth A. Grammer sold 86,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $7.73, for a total value of $664,780.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 312,993 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,419,435.89. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Michael Raab sold 30,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $6.40, for a total value of $192,000.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,310,933 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,389,971.20. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 381,138 shares of company stock worth $3,158,429 over the last 90 days. 5.50% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Ardelyx

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in ARDX. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in Ardelyx by 2.8% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 13,391,855 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $97,761,000 after purchasing an additional 365,809 shares during the last quarter. Eventide Asset Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Ardelyx by 152.5% during the fourth quarter. Eventide Asset Management LLC now owns 6,805,494 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $42,194,000 after buying an additional 4,110,494 shares during the last quarter. Rubric Capital Management LP raised its holdings in shares of Ardelyx by 60.5% in the fourth quarter. Rubric Capital Management LP now owns 4,012,753 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock worth $24,879,000 after buying an additional 1,512,753 shares during the period. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD lifted its stake in shares of Ardelyx by 68.0% during the 1st quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 3,913,863 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock worth $28,572,000 after acquiring an additional 1,584,597 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. bought a new stake in shares of Ardelyx during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $9,384,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 58.92% of the company's stock.

About Ardelyx

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.