Wedbush Has Pessimistic View of Ardelyx FY2026 Earnings

Key Points

• Wedbush analysts have lowered their FY2026 earnings estimate for Ardelyx to $0.05 per share from a previous forecast of $0.06, maintaining an "Outperform" rating with a target price of $14.00.
• Ardelyx reported a quarterly EPS of ($0.08), which beat consensus estimates by $0.05, alongside a revenue increase of 23.0% year-over-year.
• Institutional investors have shown substantial activity, with significant increases in ownership by firms like Vanguard Group and Millennium Management, reflecting strong interest in Ardelyx shares.

Ardelyx, Inc. (NASDAQ:ARDX - Free Report) - Equities research analysts at Wedbush reduced their FY2026 earnings estimates for shares of Ardelyx in a research report issued on Tuesday, October 14th. Wedbush analyst L. Chico now anticipates that the biopharmaceutical company will post earnings of $0.05 per share for the year, down from their previous forecast of $0.06. Wedbush currently has a "Outperform" rating and a $14.00 target price on the stock. The consensus estimate for Ardelyx's current full-year earnings is ($0.18) per share. Wedbush also issued estimates for Ardelyx's Q4 2026 earnings at $0.05 EPS, FY2027 earnings at $0.40 EPS and FY2028 earnings at $0.68 EPS.

Ardelyx (NASDAQ:ARDX - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, August 4th. The biopharmaceutical company reported ($0.08) EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.13) by $0.05. The business had revenue of $97.66 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $82.69 million. Ardelyx had a negative net margin of 14.60% and a negative return on equity of 36.57%. Ardelyx's revenue was up 23.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted ($0.07) EPS.

A number of other equities research analysts have also recently issued reports on ARDX. UBS Group set a $12.00 price objective on shares of Ardelyx in a report on Tuesday, August 5th. HC Wainwright began coverage on shares of Ardelyx in a report on Wednesday, June 18th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $10.00 price objective for the company. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Ardelyx from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, August 9th. Piper Sandler upped their price objective on shares of Ardelyx from $8.00 to $9.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday, August 6th. Finally, Raymond James Financial started coverage on shares of Ardelyx in a report on Wednesday, September 3rd. They issued a "strong-buy" rating and a $14.00 price objective for the company. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have given a Buy rating, one has issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $11.70.

Ardelyx Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:ARDX opened at $5.01 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.21 billion, a PE ratio of -21.78 and a beta of 0.67. Ardelyx has a 1 year low of $3.21 and a 1 year high of $6.78. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $5.90 and a 200 day moving average price of $4.80. The company has a current ratio of 4.30, a quick ratio of 4.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.44.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in Ardelyx by 4.4% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 14,997,234 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock worth $73,636,000 after purchasing an additional 634,575 shares in the last quarter. Marshall Wace LLP raised its position in Ardelyx by 34.2% in the second quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 11,250,652 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock worth $44,103,000 after purchasing an additional 2,866,843 shares in the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC raised its position in Ardelyx by 118.2% in the first quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 6,465,262 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock worth $31,744,000 after purchasing an additional 3,501,782 shares in the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE grew its stake in Ardelyx by 88.8% during the second quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 5,527,988 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock worth $21,670,000 after buying an additional 2,600,080 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Nuveen LLC bought a new stake in Ardelyx during the first quarter worth about $16,735,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 58.92% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Michael Raab sold 45,687 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $5.93, for a total transaction of $270,923.91. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 1,502,250 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $8,908,342.50. This represents a 2.95% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Elizabeth A. Grammer sold 5,841 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $5.93, for a total transaction of $34,637.13. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 305,890 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,813,927.70. This represents a 1.87% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 165,551 shares of company stock worth $996,917. Insiders own 4.80% 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.

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