Piper Sandler Lowers Ardelyx (NASDAQ:ARDX) Price Target to $15.00

Key Points

• Piper Sandler lowered Ardelyx’s price target from $16 to $15 while maintaining an “overweight” rating, implying substantial upside from the stock’s previous close.
• Analyst sentiment remains broadly positive, with a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating and an average price target of $14.90, despite some recent target cuts and one “strong sell” rating.
• Ardelyx shares rose 0.1% to $4.07, while the company’s latest quarterly results missed EPS estimates; revenue increased 34.3% year over year, but profitability remained negative.

Ardelyx (NASDAQ:ARDX - Get Free Report) had its target price cut by equities researchers at Piper Sandler from $16.00 to $15.00 in a research note issued on Monday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has an "overweight" rating on the biopharmaceutical company's stock. Piper Sandler's price target indicates a potential upside of 269.00% from the company's previous close.

Several other equities analysts have also recently weighed in on the stock. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH initiated coverage on shares of Ardelyx in a research note on Tuesday, June 16th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $16.00 target price for the company. HC Wainwright reissued a "buy" rating and set a $13.00 price target on shares of Ardelyx in a report on Friday, August 7th. TD Cowen cut their price objective on shares of Ardelyx from $13.00 to $10.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Friday, August 7th. Citigroup cut their target price on Ardelyx from $14.00 to $11.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, August 10th. Finally, Zacks Research lowered shares of Ardelyx from a "hold" rating to a "strong sell" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 22nd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have issued a Buy rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $14.90.

Ardelyx Trading Up 0.1%

Shares of Ardelyx stock traded up $0.01 on Monday, hitting $4.07. 811,871 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 4,292,062. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.69, a current ratio of 3.34 and a quick ratio of 3.15. Ardelyx has a one year low of $3.86 and a one year high of $8.40. The firm's 50-day moving average price is $5.22 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $5.93. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.01 billion, a PE ratio of -18.48 and a beta of 0.70.

Ardelyx (NASDAQ:ARDX - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 6th. The biopharmaceutical company reported ($0.07) EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.05) by ($0.02). The firm had revenue of $120.88 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $121.03 million. Ardelyx had a negative net margin of 12.35% and a negative return on equity of 36.00%. Ardelyx's quarterly revenue was up 34.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned ($0.08) EPS. On average, research analysts expect that Ardelyx will post -0.18 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Ardelyx

In other news, insider Mike Kelliher sold 7,248 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $6.27, for a total transaction of $45,444.96. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 357,418 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,241,010.86. The trade was a 1.99% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Eric Duane Foster sold 7,998 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $6.27, for a total value of $50,147.46. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 417,972 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,620,684.44. This represents a 1.88% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 24,572 shares of company stock valued at $154,066. Insiders own 5.30% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Ardelyx

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. bought a new position in Ardelyx during the 2nd quarter worth $35,000. First Horizon Corp grew its position in shares of Ardelyx by 120.4% in the 4th quarter. First Horizon Corp now owns 7,906 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $46,000 after buying an additional 4,319 shares during the last quarter. SCS Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Ardelyx in the 2nd quarter valued at about $52,000. ADAR1 Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Ardelyx in the second quarter valued at about $56,000. Finally, Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Ardelyx in the fourth quarter valued at about $60,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 58.92% of the company's stock.

Ardelyx Company Profile

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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