Ardelyx (NASDAQ:ARDX) Upgraded at Cantor Fitzgerald

Ardelyx (NASDAQ:ARDX) was upgraded by research analysts at Cantor Fitzgerald to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note issued on Thursday,Zacks.com reports.

Other equities research analysts also recently issued research reports about the stock. HC Wainwright reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $5.50 target price on shares of Ardelyx in a research note on Thursday, January 16th. Citigroup decreased their price objective on Ardelyx from $12.00 to $10.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, November 4th. Piper Sandler boosted their target price on Ardelyx from $7.00 to $8.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, January 27th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group cut their price target on Ardelyx from $11.00 to $8.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, January 2nd. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $9.42.

Ardelyx Price Performance

ARDX stock opened at $5.36 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $1.27 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -17.87 and a beta of 0.85. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $5.23 and a 200 day moving average price of $5.64. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64, a current ratio of 4.03 and a quick ratio of 3.87. Ardelyx has a 12 month low of $4.32 and a 12 month high of $10.13.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider David P. Rosenbaum sold 27,171 shares of Ardelyx stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $6.10, for a total transaction of $165,743.10. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 153,616 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $937,057.60. The trade was a 15.03 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Michael Raab sold 31,980 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $4.79, for a total value of $153,184.20. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 1,175,385 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,630,094.15. The trade was a 2.65 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 235,024 shares of company stock valued at $1,265,096 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 5.90% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. acquired a new position in Ardelyx during the fourth quarter worth about $35,000. KBC Group NV lifted its stake in Ardelyx by 101.8% in the 4th quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 13,706 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $69,000 after buying an additional 6,915 shares in the last quarter. Helen Stephens Group LLC acquired a new stake in Ardelyx during the 3rd quarter valued at $76,000. CWM LLC increased its position in Ardelyx by 328.1% during the third quarter. CWM LLC now owns 12,814 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $88,000 after buying an additional 9,821 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bleakley Financial Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of Ardelyx in the fourth quarter worth $98,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 58.92% 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.