Ardelyx, Inc. (NASDAQ:ARDX) Receives $10.61 Consensus Target Price from Analysts

Shares of Ardelyx, Inc. (NASDAQ:ARDX - Get Free Report) have earned an average rating of "Buy" from the ten ratings firms that are currently covering the firm, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. The average twelve-month price objective among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $10.61.

A number of research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Cantor Fitzgerald upgraded shares of Ardelyx to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 4th. Jefferies Financial Group reduced their price target on Ardelyx from $11.00 to $8.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, January 2nd. Scotiabank assumed coverage on Ardelyx in a research note on Friday, March 7th. They set a "sector outperform" rating and a $15.00 price objective on the stock. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH reissued a "buy" rating and set a $11.00 target price on shares of Ardelyx in a report on Friday, March 7th. Finally, BTIG Research began coverage on Ardelyx in a research note on Tuesday, March 4th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $14.00 price target for the company.

Ardelyx Stock Performance

ARDX traded up $0.22 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $4.82. The stock had a trading volume of 5,055,993 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,382,263. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.87, a current ratio of 4.58 and a quick ratio of 4.31. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $5.14 and a 200-day moving average price of $5.35. Ardelyx has a one year low of $4.02 and a one year high of $9.33. The firm has a market cap of $1.15 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -30.13 and a beta of 0.81.

Ardelyx (NASDAQ:ARDX - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, February 20th. The biopharmaceutical company reported $0.02 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting analysts' consensus estimates of $0.02. Ardelyx had a negative net margin of 11.73% and a negative return on equity of 24.87%. The company had revenue of $116.13 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $111.16 million. As a group, research analysts predict that Ardelyx will post -0.18 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity at Ardelyx

In other news, CFO Justin A. Renz sold 5,171 shares of Ardelyx stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $5.62, for a total transaction of $29,061.02. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 285,968 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,607,140.16. This trade represents a 1.78 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director David M. Mott purchased 199,000 shares of Ardelyx stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 21st. The shares were purchased at an average price of $4.99 per share, for a total transaction of $993,010.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now owns 1,937,765 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $9,669,447.35. The trade was a 11.44 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 158,076 shares of company stock valued at $823,804. 5.90% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Ardelyx

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in ARDX. State Street Corp lifted its holdings in shares of Ardelyx by 1.5% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 12,141,850 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock worth $83,657,000 after purchasing an additional 176,789 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its holdings in Ardelyx by 1.6% during the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 387,144 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock worth $2,667,000 after buying an additional 6,093 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in shares of Ardelyx by 5.6% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 14,362,659 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $72,819,000 after buying an additional 767,111 shares during the last quarter. Barclays PLC increased its stake in shares of Ardelyx by 24.9% in the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 547,325 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $3,770,000 after buying an additional 109,285 shares during the period. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of Ardelyx by 0.3% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 5,487,742 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock worth $37,818,000 after acquiring an additional 17,296 shares during 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.