Ardelyx (NASDAQ:ARDX) Earns “Buy” Rating from LADENBURG THALM/SH SH

Ardelyx (NASDAQ:ARDX)‘s stock had its “buy” rating restated by research analysts at LADENBURG THALM/SH SH in a research note issued to investors on Friday, Marketbeat Ratings reports. They presently have a $11.00 price objective on the biopharmaceutical company’s stock. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH’s target price points to a potential upside of 107.55% from the company’s previous close.

Other equities analysts have also issued reports about the stock. Cantor Fitzgerald upgraded shares of Ardelyx to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 4th. BTIG Research assumed coverage on Ardelyx in a report on Tuesday, March 4th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $14.00 target price on the stock. Raymond James reaffirmed a “strong-buy” rating and set a $13.00 price target (down from $15.00) on shares of Ardelyx in a report on Friday, February 21st. Jefferies Financial Group cut their price objective on Ardelyx from $11.00 to $8.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, January 2nd. Finally, Piper Sandler increased their target price on Ardelyx from $7.00 to $8.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, January 27th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $10.95.

Ardelyx Stock Down 0.4 %

NASDAQ ARDX opened at $5.30 on Friday. Ardelyx has a 1-year low of $4.32 and a 1-year high of $9.33. The company has a current ratio of 4.58, a quick ratio of 4.31 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.87. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $5.39 and its two-hundred day moving average is $5.59. The company has a market capitalization of $1.26 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -33.13 and a beta of 0.87.

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Laura A. Williams sold 4,941 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $5.62, for a total value of $27,768.42. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 303,804 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,707,378.48. This represents a 1.60 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Michael Raab sold 25,000 shares of the firm’s 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 completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 1,150,385 shares in the company, valued at $6,051,025.10. This represents a 2.13 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders bought 490,029 shares of company stock valued at $2,377,766 and sold 183,076 shares valued at $985,304. Company insiders own 5.90% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Ardelyx

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of ARDX. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC grew its holdings in Ardelyx by 34.3% during the third quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 28,365 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $195,000 after purchasing an additional 7,245 shares during the period. Tyler Stone Wealth Management boosted its position in shares of Ardelyx by 87.0% during the third quarter. Tyler Stone Wealth Management now owns 96,850 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $667,000 after purchasing an additional 45,055 shares in the last quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of Ardelyx by 51.8% in the 3rd quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC now owns 170,544 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $1,175,000 after buying an additional 58,219 shares in the last quarter. Aigen Investment Management LP raised its stake in Ardelyx by 29.4% during the 3rd quarter. Aigen Investment Management LP now owns 23,510 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $162,000 after buying an additional 5,346 shares during the period. Finally, Simplify Asset Management Inc. lifted its holdings in Ardelyx by 15.3% during the third quarter. Simplify Asset Management Inc. now owns 689,364 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $4,750,000 after acquiring an additional 91,364 shares in the last quarter. 58.92% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.