Ardelyx (NASDAQ:ARDX) Coverage Initiated at BTIG Research

BTIG Research started coverage on shares of Ardelyx (NASDAQ:ARDX) in a report published on Tuesday morning, Marketbeat Ratings reports. The brokerage issued a buy rating and a $14.00 target price on the biopharmaceutical company’s stock.

Several other analysts also recently issued reports on ARDX. Piper Sandler lifted their price target on shares of Ardelyx from $7.00 to $8.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Raymond James reiterated a “strong-buy” rating and set a $13.00 price objective (down from $15.00) on shares of Ardelyx in a report on Friday, February 21st. Jefferies Financial Group decreased their target price on shares of Ardelyx from $11.00 to $8.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, January 2nd. Citigroup cut their price target on Ardelyx from $12.00 to $10.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, November 4th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald raised Ardelyx to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Ardelyx has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $10.44.

Ardelyx Price Performance

ARDX stock opened at $5.32 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.87, a current ratio of 4.58 and a quick ratio of 4.31. The company’s 50-day moving average is $5.38 and its 200-day moving average is $5.60. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.27 billion, a PE ratio of -33.25 and a beta of 0.85. Ardelyx has a 1 year low of $4.32 and a 1 year high of $9.61.

Ardelyx (NASDAQ:ARDX) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 20th. The biopharmaceutical company reported $0.02 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.02. Ardelyx had a negative return on equity of 24.87% and a negative net margin of 11.73%. The business had revenue of $116.13 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $111.16 million. Equities research analysts expect that Ardelyx will post -0.18 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Laura A. Williams sold 4,941 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $5.62, for a total transaction of $27,768.42. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 303,804 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,707,378.48. This trade represents a 1.60 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Michael Raab sold 25,000 shares of Ardelyx stock in a transaction on Tuesday, December 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $5.26, for a total value of $131,500.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 1,150,385 shares in the company, valued at $6,051,025.10. The trade was a 2.13 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have bought 490,029 shares of company stock valued at $2,377,766 and have sold 141,408 shares valued at $761,963. Insiders own 5.90% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Ensign Peak Advisors Inc raised its holdings in shares of Ardelyx by 3.1% in the 4th quarter. Ensign Peak Advisors Inc now owns 73,950 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $375,000 after purchasing an additional 2,200 shares during the period. B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. increased its position in Ardelyx by 3.4% in the third quarter. B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 90,000 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $599,000 after buying an additional 3,000 shares during the last quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. raised its stake in shares of Ardelyx by 2.3% in the fourth quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 154,625 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $788,000 after buying an additional 3,550 shares during the period. Swiss National Bank lifted its position in shares of Ardelyx by 1.0% during the 4th quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 463,100 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $2,348,000 after buying an additional 4,800 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC grew its stake in shares of Ardelyx by 42.7% during the 4th quarter. Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC now owns 16,486 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $84,000 after acquiring an additional 4,933 shares during the period. 58.92% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.