Ardelyx (NASDAQ:ARDX) Lifted to Hold at StockNews.com

StockNews.com upgraded shares of Ardelyx (NASDAQ:ARDX) from a sell rating to a hold rating in a research report sent to investors on Wednesday.

A number of other research analysts have also issued reports on the stock. Piper Sandler lowered shares of Ardelyx from an overweight rating to a neutral rating and cut their price target for the company from $15.00 to $7.00 in a research note on Tuesday, July 2nd. Citigroup cut their target price on Ardelyx from $14.00 to $10.00 and set a buy rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, July 3rd. Leerink Partnrs reaffirmed an outperform rating on shares of Ardelyx in a research report on Friday, April 5th. HC Wainwright reiterated a buy rating and set a $10.00 price target on shares of Ardelyx in a research note on Thursday, July 18th. Finally, SVB Leerink started coverage on Ardelyx in a research note on Friday, April 5th. They issued an outperform rating and a $14.00 price objective for the company. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus target price of $10.94.

Ardelyx Stock Performance

Shares of ARDX opened at $6.05 on Wednesday. Ardelyx has a 12 month low of $3.16 and a 12 month high of $10.13. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $6.11 and a 200-day moving average price of $7.41. The company has a current ratio of 4.53, a quick ratio of 4.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66. The firm has a market cap of $1.41 billion, a PE ratio of -21.61 and a beta of 0.83.

Ardelyx (NASDAQ:ARDX) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The biopharmaceutical company reported ($0.07) earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.10) by $0.03. Ardelyx had a negative return on equity of 41.65% and a negative net margin of 41.36%. The business had revenue of $73.20 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $55.03 million. During the same quarter last year, the company earned ($0.08) earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 228.3% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts predict that Ardelyx will post -0.34 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Michael Raab sold 30,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, July 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $5.64, for a total transaction of $169,200.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 1,260,463 shares in the company, valued at $7,109,011.32. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In other news, insider Robert Blanks sold 38,000 shares of Ardelyx stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $5.96, for a total value of $226,480.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 324,331 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,933,012.76. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Michael Raab sold 30,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, July 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $5.64, for a total transaction of $169,200.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,260,463 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,109,011.32. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 494,170 shares of company stock valued at $3,752,676 over the last ninety days. Company insiders own 5.50% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Ardelyx by 283.9% in the second quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 471,453 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $3,493,000 after purchasing an additional 348,642 shares during the period. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank increased its stake in Ardelyx by 34.5% during the second quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 63,176 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $468,000 after purchasing an additional 16,198 shares during the period. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Ardelyx by 1,026.3% during the 2nd quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 3,548 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 3,233 shares in the last quarter. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Ardelyx by 34.0% in the second quarter. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. now owns 588,192 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $4,359,000 after acquiring an additional 149,365 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Clay Northam Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Ardelyx by 154.7% in the 2nd quarter. Clay Northam Wealth Management LLC now owns 232,377 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $1,722,000 after buying an additional 141,145 shares during the period. 58.92% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other 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.