Ardelyx (NASDAQ:ARDX) Now Covered by Analysts at SVB Leerink

SVB Leerink started coverage on shares of Ardelyx (NASDAQ:ARDX) in a research report released on Friday, Marketbeat reports. The firm issued an outperform rating and a $14.00 price target on the biopharmaceutical company’s stock.

A number of other equities analysts also recently weighed in on the stock. Citigroup lifted their target price on shares of Ardelyx from $9.00 to $14.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 10th. Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an overweight rating on shares of Ardelyx in a research note on Friday, January 12th. Piper Sandler lifted their price target on shares of Ardelyx from $12.00 to $15.00 and gave the company an overweight rating in a research note on Friday, February 23rd. Raymond James lifted their price target on shares of Ardelyx from $12.00 to $15.00 and gave the company a strong-buy rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 9th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded shares of Ardelyx from a hold rating to a sell rating in a research note on Monday, February 26th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of $12.56.

Ardelyx Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ ARDX opened at $7.50 on Friday. Ardelyx has a twelve month low of $3.16 and a twelve month high of $10.13. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $8.58 and a 200 day simple moving average of $6.38. The company has a market capitalization of $1.75 billion, a PE ratio of -25.00 and a beta of 0.85. The company has a quick ratio of 4.64, a current ratio of 4.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30.

Ardelyx (NASDAQ:ARDX) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, February 22nd. The biopharmaceutical company reported ($0.12) earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.09) by ($0.03). Ardelyx had a negative return on equity of 43.57% and a negative net margin of 53.08%. The firm had revenue of $34.36 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $34.26 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.06 EPS. Ardelyx’s quarterly revenue was down 22.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Ardelyx will post -0.44 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Michael Raab sold 22,917 shares of Ardelyx stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $8.75, for a total transaction of $200,523.75. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,319,951 shares in the company, valued at $11,549,571.25. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. In related news, insider Robert Blanks sold 5,017 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $8.75, for a total transaction of $43,898.75. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 368,186 shares in the company, valued at $3,221,627.50. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Michael Raab sold 22,917 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $8.75, for a total transaction of $200,523.75. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 1,319,951 shares in the company, valued at $11,549,571.25. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 171,320 shares of company stock worth $1,354,774 over the last three months. 5.50% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in ARDX. Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its holdings in Ardelyx by 81.1% during the first quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 549,816 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $588,000 after purchasing an additional 246,147 shares during the last quarter. BlackRock Inc. boosted its stake in Ardelyx by 1.3% in the first quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 5,700,576 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $6,100,000 after acquiring an additional 71,592 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp boosted its stake in Ardelyx by 7.0% in the first quarter. State Street Corp now owns 2,127,557 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $2,276,000 after acquiring an additional 139,484 shares during the last quarter. Mirabella Financial Services LLP purchased a new position in Ardelyx in the first quarter valued at about $51,000. Finally, Worth Venture Partners LLC boosted its stake in Ardelyx by 39.4% in the first quarter. Worth Venture Partners LLC now owns 768,036 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $822,000 after acquiring an additional 217,061 shares during the last quarter. 58.92% of the stock is currently 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.