BTIG Research Drops Coverage on Aardvark Therapeutics (NASDAQ:AARD)

Investment analysts at BTIG Research dropped coverage on shares of Aardvark Therapeutics (NASDAQ:AARD) in a research report issued to clients and investors on Monday, October 12th, Benzinga reports. The firm had previously set a “neutral” rating on the stock.

Other equities analysts also recently issued reports about the stock. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Aardvark Therapeutics in a report on Tuesday, September 29th. Royal Bank Of Canada reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating and issued a $6.00 target price on shares of Aardvark Therapeutics in a research report on Thursday, September 24th. HC Wainwright reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $6.00 price target on shares of Aardvark Therapeutics in a research report on Monday, July 20th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded Aardvark Therapeutics from a “strong sell” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Saturday, August 15th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have given a Buy rating, four have given a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $11.56.

Aardvark Therapeutics Trading Up 16.2%

Shares of NASDAQ AARD traded up $0.21 during midday trading on Monday, hitting $1.51. 2,018,551 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 360,170. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $5.06 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $6.62. The company has a market cap of $33.04 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -0.47 and a beta of 3.80. Aardvark Therapeutics has a 12-month low of $0.93 and a 12-month high of $16.60.

Aardvark Therapeutics (NASDAQ:AARD) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, August 11th. The company reported ($0.66) EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.87) by $0.21. Equities analysts expect that Aardvark Therapeutics will post -3.05 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Nelson Sun sold 62,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $5.18, for a total transaction of $321,160.00. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 35,475 shares in the company, valued at approximately $183,760.50. This represents a 63.61% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 17.80% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Aardvark Therapeutics

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its stake in Aardvark Therapeutics by 30.8% in the first quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 29,320 shares of the company’s stock valued at $111,000 after acquiring an additional 6,905 shares during the period. Susquehanna International Group LLP bought a new stake in Aardvark Therapeutics during the 2nd quarter valued at about $138,000. Ieq Capital LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Aardvark Therapeutics during the 2nd quarter worth about $221,000. J. Goldman & Co LP purchased a new stake in shares of Aardvark Therapeutics during the second quarter worth approximately $233,000. Finally, Renaissance Technologies LLC purchased a new stake in Aardvark Therapeutics during the 1st quarter worth about $267,000.

About Aardvark Therapeutics

Aardvark Therapeutics, Inc is a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company focused on developing oral therapies for metabolic diseases and other conditions involving appetite regulation. The company’s approach is based on activating bitter taste receptors in the gastrointestinal tract to stimulate the release of gut hormones associated with satiety and metabolic control.

Aardvark’s lead investigational product, ARD-101, is an orally administered, broad-spectrum bitter taste receptor agonist.