Ardelyx (NASDAQ:ARDX) Now Covered by Analysts at BTIG Research

Investment analysts at BTIG Research initiated coverage on shares of Ardelyx (NASDAQ:ARDX) in a research note issued to investors on Tuesday,Briefing.com Automated Import reports. The brokerage set a “buy” rating and a $14.00 price target on the biopharmaceutical company’s stock. BTIG Research’s price objective points to a potential upside of 175.59% from the company’s previous close.

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

Ardelyx Stock Down 5.2 %

Shares of NASDAQ:ARDX opened at $5.08 on Tuesday. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $5.34 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $5.61. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.87, a quick ratio of 4.31 and a current ratio of 4.58. The company has a market capitalization of $1.21 billion, a PE ratio of -31.75 and a beta of 0.85. Ardelyx has a 52 week low of $4.32 and a 52 week high of $9.83.

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

Insider Activity

In related news, Director David M. Mott bought 77,729 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 24th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $5.00 per share, with a total value of $388,645.00. Following the acquisition, the director now owns 2,015,494 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $10,077,470. This represents a 4.01 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CFO Justin A. Renz sold 5,171 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $5.62, for a total value of $29,061.02. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 285,968 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,607,140.16. The trade was a 1.78 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders acquired 490,029 shares of company stock valued at $2,377,766 and sold 141,408 shares valued at $761,963. Insiders own 5.90% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Janus Henderson Group PLC increased its position in shares of Ardelyx by 13.3% during the fourth quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 24,387,941 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $123,587,000 after buying an additional 2,858,061 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in Ardelyx by 5.6% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 14,362,659 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $72,819,000 after acquiring an additional 767,111 shares during the period. State Street Corp raised its position in shares of Ardelyx by 1.5% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 12,141,850 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $83,657,000 after acquiring an additional 176,789 shares in the last quarter. Eventide Asset Management LLC raised its position in shares of Ardelyx by 11.2% in the 3rd quarter. Eventide Asset Management LLC now owns 7,413,049 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $51,076,000 after acquiring an additional 746,067 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Ardelyx by 0.4% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 5,509,730 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $27,941,000 after purchasing an additional 21,988 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 58.92% of the company’s stock.

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.