Ardelyx, Inc. (NASDAQ:ARDX) Receives Average Rating of “Moderate Buy” from Brokerages

Ardelyx, Inc. (NASDAQ:ARDX) has been assigned an average rating of “Moderate Buy” from the eight brokerages that are covering the stock, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, five have assigned a buy recommendation and one has assigned a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 1-year target price among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $9.42.

ARDX has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Citigroup lowered their price target 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. Piper Sandler boosted their target price on Ardelyx from $7.00 to $8.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, January 27th. HC Wainwright reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $5.50 price target on shares of Ardelyx in a research note on Thursday, January 16th. Cantor Fitzgerald raised Ardelyx to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group cut their price objective on shares of Ardelyx from $11.00 to $8.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, January 2nd.

Ardelyx Stock Performance

Shares of ARDX opened at $5.67 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $1.34 billion, a PE ratio of -18.90 and a beta of 0.85. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64, a quick ratio of 3.87 and a current ratio of 4.03. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $5.24 and its 200 day moving average price is $5.63. Ardelyx has a 52 week low of $4.32 and a 52 week high of $10.13.

Insider Buying and Selling at Ardelyx

In related news, CFO Justin A. Renz sold 5,260 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $4.79, for a total transaction of $25,195.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 291,139 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,394,555.81. The trade was a 1.77 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director David M. Mott bought 213,300 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 19th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $4.67 per share, for a total transaction of $996,111.00. Following the acquisition, the director now directly owns 1,638,765 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,653,032.55. The trade was a 14.96 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 180,681 shares of company stock worth $937,680 over the last 90 days. Insiders own 5.90% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Ardelyx

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. bought a new position in Ardelyx during the fourth quarter valued at about $35,000. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. acquired a new stake in Ardelyx during the fourth quarter worth $41,000. Helen Stephens Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of Ardelyx in the 3rd quarter valued at $76,000. CWM LLC lifted its holdings 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 acquiring an additional 9,821 shares during the period. Finally, KBC Group NV boosted its position in shares of Ardelyx by 101.8% during the 4th 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 in the last quarter. 58.92% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.