Ardelyx (NASDAQ:ARDX) Price Target Raised to $19.00

Ardelyx (NASDAQ:ARDX) had its price target increased by Wedbush from $16.00 to $19.00 in a research note released on Wednesday morning,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an outperform rating on the biopharmaceutical company’s stock.

ARDX has been the topic of a number of other research reports. Citigroup upped their price objective on Ardelyx from $11.00 to $14.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 9th. TD Cowen restated a “buy” rating on shares of Ardelyx in a report on Friday, October 31st. BTIG Research increased their price target on Ardelyx from $14.00 to $17.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 9th. Piper Sandler upgraded Ardelyx from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $10.00 to $16.00 in a research note on Thursday, January 8th. Finally, Raymond James Financial restated a “strong-buy” rating and set a $19.00 target price on shares of Ardelyx in a research note on Thursday, January 8th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have given a Buy rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Ardelyx currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $14.30.

Ardelyx Trading Down 2.0%

NASDAQ ARDX opened at $7.77 on Wednesday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $6.19 and a 200-day simple moving average of $5.72. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.31, a quick ratio of 4.11 and a current ratio of 4.41. Ardelyx has a one year low of $3.21 and a one year high of $8.40. The firm has a market cap of $1.89 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -33.78 and a beta of 0.56.

Ardelyx (NASDAQ:ARDX) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, October 30th. The biopharmaceutical company reported $0.00 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.06) by $0.06. Ardelyx had a negative net margin of 14.20% and a negative return on equity of 36.91%. The firm had revenue of $110.33 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $100.44 million. The firm’s revenue was up 14.6% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts anticipate that Ardelyx will post -0.18 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider Mike Kelliher sold 5,560 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $5.54, for a total transaction of $30,802.40. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 271,181 shares in the company, valued at $1,502,342.74. The trade was a 2.01% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Laura A. Williams sold 50,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $6.98, for a total value of $349,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 361,563 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,523,709.74. This trade represents a 12.15% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold a total of 114,868 shares of company stock worth $708,369 over the last 90 days. Insiders own 4.80% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Ardelyx

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of ARDX. Merit Financial Group LLC lifted its position in Ardelyx by 12.0% in the third quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC now owns 23,680 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $130,000 after acquiring an additional 2,537 shares during the last quarter. Brighton Jones LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Ardelyx by 25.1% in the 3rd quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 12,701 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $70,000 after purchasing an additional 2,550 shares during the last quarter. Savant Capital LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Ardelyx by 7.1% in the 2nd quarter. Savant Capital LLC now owns 39,386 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $154,000 after purchasing an additional 2,610 shares during the last quarter. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC boosted its position in shares of Ardelyx by 24.2% in the 3rd quarter. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC now owns 15,263 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $84,000 after purchasing an additional 2,975 shares during the period. Finally, Crux Wealth Advisors grew its stake in Ardelyx by 10.9% during the 4th quarter. Crux Wealth Advisors now owns 30,973 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $181,000 after buying an additional 3,035 shares during the last quarter. 58.92% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Ardelyx

Ardelyx, Inc (NASDAQ: ARDX) is a clinical‐stage biopharmaceutical company focused on discovering, developing and commercializing targeted small molecule drugs for cardio‐renal and gastrointestinal diseases. The company’s lead marketed product, tenapanor (sold under the brand name XPHOZAH in the United States), is approved for the treatment of hyperphosphatemia in patients with chronic kidney disease on dialysis. Ardelyx’s proprietary approach targets epithelial transporters in the gastrointestinal tract, offering localized activity with limited systemic exposure.

Beyond tenapanor, Ardelyx’s development pipeline includes treatments designed to address other complications in kidney disease and related metabolic disorders.