Royal Bank Of Canada Reiterates Sector Perform Rating for Aardvark Therapeutics (NASDAQ:AARD)

Aardvark Therapeutics (NASDAQ:AARD)‘s stock had its “sector perform” rating reissued by Royal Bank Of Canada in a research note issued on Thursday, Benzinga reports. They currently have a $6.00 price target on the stock. Royal Bank Of Canada’s price target would suggest a potential upside of 11.69% from the stock’s previous close.

Other equities research analysts have also issued research reports about the company. HC Wainwright restated a “neutral” rating and set a $6.00 price target on shares of Aardvark Therapeutics in a research note on Monday, July 20th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Aardvark Therapeutics from a “strong sell” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Saturday, August 15th. Finally, Weiss Ratings upgraded Aardvark Therapeutics from a “sell (e+)” rating to a “sell (d-)” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 2nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have issued a Buy rating, four have issued a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $15.33.

Aardvark Therapeutics Stock Performance

AARD stock traded down $0.19 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $5.37. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 47,072 shares, compared to its average volume of 235,390. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $6.20 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $5.28. Aardvark Therapeutics has a 1 year low of $3.35 and a 1 year high of $17.94. The firm has a market capitalization of $117.56 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -1.68 and a beta of 3.74.

Aardvark Therapeutics (NASDAQ:AARD) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, August 11th. The company reported ($0.66) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.87) by $0.21. As a group, analysts forecast that Aardvark Therapeutics will post -3.17 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Aardvark Therapeutics

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

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its position in shares of 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 in the last quarter. Susquehanna International Group LLP purchased a new position in Aardvark Therapeutics during the second quarter worth about $138,000. Ieq Capital LLC purchased a new position in Aardvark Therapeutics during the second quarter worth about $221,000. J. Goldman & Co LP purchased a new position in Aardvark Therapeutics during the second quarter worth about $233,000. Finally, Propel Bio Management LLC acquired a new stake in Aardvark Therapeutics during the fourth quarter worth about $609,000.

Key Aardvark Therapeutics News

Here are the key news stories impacting Aardvark Therapeutics this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed its “sector perform” rating and assigned a $6.00 price target, implying approximately 8% potential upside from the recently cited $5.55 share price. The target suggests RBC sees some recovery potential, although the neutral rating signals limited conviction. Benzinga analyst rating report
• Neutral Sentiment: Brokerages have assigned Aardvark a consensus “hold” recommendation, indicating that analysts are largely waiting for greater clarity on the company’s clinical and legal outlook.
• Negative Sentiment: A securities class action has been filed against Aardvark and certain officers and directors. The complaint covers investors who purchased shares in or traceable to the IPO, as well as securities purchased during the February 13, 2025–May 14, 2026 class period. Investors face an October 13, 2026 deadline to seek lead-plaintiff status. Bernstein Liebhard shareholder alert
• Negative Sentiment: The allegations center on claims that Aardvark overstated the safety and tolerability of its ARD-101 therapy before the Phase 3 HERO trial was paused and the FDA imposed a full clinical hold. The resulting uncertainty has contributed to sharply reduced price targets and weighs on the stock’s outlook. AARD shareholder alert

Aardvark Therapeutics Company Profile

Aardvark Therapeutics, Inc is a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company focused on developing oral therapies for obesity, hyperphagia and related metabolic disorders. The company’s approach is based on activating bitter taste receptors, which it believes may influence appetite regulation and metabolic signaling without relying on injectable therapies.

Aardvark’s lead investigational product, ARD-101, is an oral small-molecule bitter taste receptor agonist being studied for conditions involving excessive hunger and food intake, including hyperphagia associated with Prader-Willi syndrome.