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

Ardelyx, Inc. (NASDAQ:ARDX) has received a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” from the eight research firms that are presently covering the stock, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and six have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1-year price target among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $9.25.

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on the stock. Citigroup lowered their price objective on shares of Ardelyx from $12.00 to $10.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, November 4th. HC Wainwright cut Ardelyx from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and lowered their price target for the stock from $11.00 to $5.50 in a research report on Monday, November 11th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group cut their price objective on Ardelyx from $11.00 to $8.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, January 2nd.

Ardelyx Stock Down 5.1 %

ARDX stock opened at $5.07 on Monday. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.20 billion, a PE ratio of -16.90 and a beta of 0.85. Ardelyx has a 52 week low of $4.32 and a 52 week high of $10.13. The company has a quick ratio of 3.87, a current ratio of 4.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $5.20 and a 200 day moving average of $5.70.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO Michael Raab sold 41,666 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $5.31, for a total transaction of $221,246.46. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,129,552 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,997,921.12. This represents a 3.56 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, Director David M. Mott purchased 213,300 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, December 19th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $4.67 per share, with a total value of $996,111.00. Following the purchase, the director now owns 1,638,765 shares in the company, valued at $7,653,032.55. This represents 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 218,358 shares of company stock valued at $1,189,516 over the last ninety days. Company insiders own 5.90% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Ardelyx

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Redwood Wealth Management Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of Ardelyx in the second quarter valued at approximately $62,000. Coastal Bridge Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Ardelyx in the 2nd quarter valued at $74,000. Helen Stephens Group LLC purchased a new position in Ardelyx in the 3rd quarter valued at $76,000. CWM LLC boosted its stake in 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 last quarter. Finally, Algert Global LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Ardelyx during the second quarter worth $174,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 58.92% of the company’s stock.

About Ardelyx

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.