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

Shares of Ardelyx, Inc. (NASDAQ:ARDX) have been given an average rating of “Moderate Buy” by the nine ratings firms that are covering the company, MarketBeat.com reports. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, six have assigned a buy recommendation and one has given a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 12-month target price among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $10.07.

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

Insider Transactions at Ardelyx

In other news, Director David M. Mott bought 213,300 shares of Ardelyx stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 19th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $4.67 per share, for a total transaction of $996,111.00. Following the acquisition, the director now owns 1,638,765 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,653,032.55. This trade represents a 14.96 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider David P. Rosenbaum sold 27,172 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $5.95, for a total transaction of $161,673.40. Following the sale, the insider now owns 153,616 shares in the company, valued at approximately $914,015.20. This trade represents a 15.03 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 184,192 shares of company stock valued at $1,013,345 in the last 90 days. 5.90% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Ardelyx

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Redwood Wealth Management Group LLC purchased a new position in Ardelyx in the second quarter valued at about $62,000. Coastal Bridge Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Ardelyx during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $74,000. Helen Stephens Group LLC purchased a new position in Ardelyx in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $76,000. CWM LLC grew its position in Ardelyx by 328.1% in the third quarter. CWM LLC now owns 12,814 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $88,000 after acquiring an additional 9,821 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Aigen Investment Management LP raised its stake in shares of Ardelyx by 29.4% during the third quarter. Aigen Investment Management LP now owns 23,510 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $162,000 after purchasing an additional 5,346 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 58.92% of the company’s stock.

Ardelyx Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ ARDX opened at $4.97 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64, a current ratio of 4.03 and a quick ratio of 3.87. The company has a market cap of $1.18 billion, a PE ratio of -16.57 and a beta of 0.85. Ardelyx has a 1-year low of $4.32 and a 1-year high of $10.13. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $5.27 and a 200 day moving average price of $5.72.

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.