Analysts Set Ardelyx, Inc. (NASDAQ:ARDX) PT at $9.42

Shares of Ardelyx, Inc. (NASDAQ:ARDX - Get Free Report) have earned an average recommendation of "Moderate Buy" from the eight research firms that are presently covering the firm, Marketbeat.com reports. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, five have assigned a buy recommendation and one has issued a strong buy recommendation on the company. The average 1 year price target among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $9.42.

ARDX has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Jefferies Financial Group dropped their price objective 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 lowered their target price 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. HC Wainwright reaffirmed a "neutral" rating and issued a $5.50 target price on shares of Ardelyx in a research note on Thursday, January 16th. Piper Sandler lifted their target price on shares of Ardelyx from $7.00 to $8.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald raised shares of Ardelyx to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Thursday.

Ardelyx Price Performance

Shares of ARDX traded down $0.07 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $5.29. 2,046,147 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 4,793,544. The company has a quick ratio of 3.87, a current ratio of 4.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $5.23 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $5.63. Ardelyx has a 52-week low of $4.32 and a 52-week high of $10.13. The company has a market cap of $1.25 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -17.63 and a beta of 0.85.

Insider Activity at Ardelyx

In related news, CFO Justin A. Renz sold 5,260 shares of Ardelyx stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $4.79, for a total transaction of $25,195.40. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 291,139 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,394,555.81. The trade was a 1.77 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider David P. Rosenbaum sold 27,171 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $6.10, for a total transaction of $165,743.10. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 153,616 shares in the company, valued at $937,057.60. This represents a 15.03 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 207,852 shares of company stock worth $1,103,423. 5.90% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Ardelyx

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in ARDX. AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in Ardelyx by 145.6% in the 2nd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 416,353 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock worth $3,085,000 after buying an additional 246,819 shares in the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC lifted its holdings in Ardelyx by 142.8% in the 2nd quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 3,203,090 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock worth $23,735,000 after buying an additional 1,883,995 shares in the last quarter. Algert Global LLC acquired a new position in Ardelyx in the 2nd quarter worth $174,000. Creative Planning increased its position in shares of Ardelyx by 90.0% in the 2nd quarter. Creative Planning now owns 40,417 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock worth $299,000 after purchasing an additional 19,140 shares during the last quarter. Finally, B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Ardelyx in the 2nd quarter worth about $645,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 58.92% of the company's stock.

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.