Ardelyx (NASDAQ:ARDX) Price Target Increased to $11.00 by Analysts at HC Wainwright

Ardelyx (NASDAQ:ARDX) had its price target lifted by analysts at HC Wainwright from $10.00 to $11.00 in a report issued on Monday, Benzinga reports. The firm presently has a “buy” rating on the biopharmaceutical company’s stock. HC Wainwright’s price target points to a potential upside of 81.82% from the company’s current price.

ARDX has been the subject of several other reports. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Ardelyx from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st. Piper Sandler downgraded shares of Ardelyx from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and lowered their price target for the stock from $15.00 to $7.00 in a research note on Tuesday, July 2nd. Wedbush reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $11.00 price target on shares of Ardelyx in a research note on Friday. Citigroup boosted their price target on shares of Ardelyx from $10.00 to $12.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald reissued an “overweight” rating on shares of Ardelyx in a research note on Thursday, June 20th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Ardelyx currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $11.43.

Ardelyx Price Performance

NASDAQ:ARDX remained flat at $6.05 during midday trading on Monday. 4,370,617 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 5,610,311. Ardelyx has a one year low of $3.16 and a one year high of $10.13. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $6.11 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $7.40. The firm has a market cap of $1.41 billion, a P/E ratio of -20.89 and a beta of 0.83. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66, a current ratio of 4.53 and a quick ratio of 4.36.

Ardelyx (NASDAQ:ARDX) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The biopharmaceutical company reported ($0.07) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.11) by $0.04. Ardelyx had a negative net margin of 31.02% and a negative return on equity of 38.41%. The company had revenue of $73.20 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $55.03 million. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned ($0.08) earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 228.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts forecast that Ardelyx will post -0.34 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity at Ardelyx

In other Ardelyx news, insider Robert Blanks sold 38,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, June 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $5.96, for a total value of $226,480.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 324,331 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,933,012.76. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In related news, CEO Michael Raab sold 7,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $6.72, for a total value of $50,400.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,270,273 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,536,234.56. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Robert Blanks sold 38,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction 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 completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 324,331 shares in the company, valued at $1,933,012.76. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 286,182 shares of company stock worth $1,920,302 over the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 5.50% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Ardelyx

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in ARDX. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in Ardelyx by 0.9% in the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 11,565,800 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $47,188,000 after purchasing an additional 97,951 shares during the period. Raymond James & Associates bought a new position in shares of Ardelyx during the fourth quarter valued at $98,000. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. raised its position in shares of Ardelyx by 59.0% in the 4th quarter. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. now owns 91,302 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $566,000 after purchasing an additional 33,877 shares during the last quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. boosted its stake in Ardelyx by 8.7% in the 4th quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 152,389 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $945,000 after purchasing an additional 12,208 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Vontobel Holding Ltd. purchased a new stake in Ardelyx during the 4th quarter valued at about $74,000. 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.