Ardelyx (NASDAQ:ARDX) Upgraded at Cantor Fitzgerald

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

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

Ardelyx Price Performance

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Michael Raab sold 41,666 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $5.36, for a total value of $223,329.76. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,108,719 shares in the company, valued at $5,942,733.84. The trade was a 3.62 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director David M. Mott purchased 213,300 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, December 19th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $4.67 per share, with a total value of $996,111.00. Following the acquisition, the director now owns 1,638,765 shares in the company, valued at $7,653,032.55. The trade was a 14.96 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 235,024 shares of company stock worth $1,265,096. Corporate insiders own 5.90% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Ardelyx

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. purchased a new stake in Ardelyx during the 4th quarter valued at $35,000. KBC Group NV raised its stake in shares of Ardelyx by 101.8% in the fourth quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 13,706 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $69,000 after acquiring an additional 6,915 shares during the period. Helen Stephens Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Ardelyx in the 3rd quarter worth about $76,000. CWM LLC boosted its stake in shares of Ardelyx by 328.1% during the 3rd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 12,814 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $88,000 after purchasing an additional 9,821 shares during the period. Finally, Bleakley Financial Group LLC bought a new position in Ardelyx during the 4th quarter valued at about $98,000. 58.92% of the stock is currently 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.