Ardelyx (NASDAQ:ARDX) Rating Lowered to “Neutral” at HC Wainwright

Ardelyx (NASDAQ:ARDX) was downgraded by research analysts at HC Wainwright from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research report issued on Monday, Marketbeat reports. They presently have a $5.50 target price on the biopharmaceutical company’s stock, down from their previous target price of $11.00. HC Wainwright’s price objective would suggest a potential upside of 19.83% from the stock’s current price.

Other research analysts have also recently issued reports about the stock. Wedbush reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $11.00 price target on shares of Ardelyx in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. StockNews.com raised shares of Ardelyx from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. Finally, Citigroup lowered their price target 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. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Ardelyx currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $10.42.

Ardelyx Price Performance

ARDX opened at $4.59 on Monday. The company has a current ratio of 4.03, a quick ratio of 3.87 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.09 billion, a P/E ratio of -15.30 and a beta of 0.92. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $6.01 and a 200-day moving average price of $6.29. Ardelyx has a 12-month low of $3.49 and a 12-month high of $10.13.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Michael Raab sold 32,225 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $5.86, for a total value of $188,838.50. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,227,009 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,190,272.74. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. In related news, CEO Michael Raab sold 32,225 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $5.86, for a total value of $188,838.50. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 1,227,009 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,190,272.74. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, insider David P. Rosenbaum sold 20,507 shares of Ardelyx stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $6.00, for a total transaction of $123,042.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 158,502 shares in the company, valued at approximately $951,012. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 267,983 shares of company stock valued at $1,632,802. Insiders own 5.90% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Ardelyx

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of ARDX. World Equity Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Ardelyx by 15.4% in the 2nd quarter. World Equity Group Inc. now owns 18,402 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $136,000 after acquiring an additional 2,453 shares in the last quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC lifted its position in Ardelyx by 1,026.3% during the second quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 3,548 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 3,233 shares during the period. ProShare Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Ardelyx by 8.9% during the 1st quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 57,729 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $421,000 after buying an additional 4,735 shares in the last quarter. Aigen Investment Management LP boosted its holdings in shares of Ardelyx by 29.4% during the 3rd quarter. Aigen Investment Management LP now owns 23,510 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $162,000 after buying an additional 5,346 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Values First Advisors Inc. grew its position in shares of Ardelyx by 14.6% in the 3rd quarter. Values First Advisors Inc. now owns 46,282 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $319,000 after buying an additional 5,890 shares during the period. 58.92% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other 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.