Ardelyx (NASDAQ:ARDX) Coverage Initiated at Scotiabank

Scotiabank assumed coverage on shares of Ardelyx (NASDAQ:ARDX - Get Free Report) in a note issued to investors on Friday,Benzinga reports. The firm set a "sector outperform" rating and a $15.00 price target on the biopharmaceutical company's stock. Scotiabank's price objective would indicate a potential upside of 183.02% from the company's current price.

ARDX has been the topic of a number of other reports. Cantor Fitzgerald upgraded shares of Ardelyx to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Tuesday. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $11.00 price target on shares of Ardelyx in a research note on Friday. Piper Sandler increased their price objective 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. Jefferies Financial Group lowered their target price on Ardelyx from $11.00 to $8.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, January 2nd. Finally, HC Wainwright reissued a "neutral" rating and set a $5.50 price target on shares of Ardelyx in a research report on Friday, February 21st. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $10.95.

Ardelyx Trading Down 0.4 %

Shares of ARDX stock traded down $0.02 on Friday, hitting $5.30. The stock had a trading volume of 2,628,302 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,168,793. The firm has a market cap of $1.26 billion, a P/E ratio of -33.13 and a beta of 0.85. Ardelyx has a twelve month low of $4.32 and a twelve month 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 company has a fifty day moving average price of $5.38 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $5.60.

Remove Ads

Ardelyx (NASDAQ:ARDX - Get Free Report) 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 analyst estimates of $111.16 million. Ardelyx had a negative net margin of 11.73% and a negative return on equity of 24.87%. As a group, 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 business's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $5.62, for a total value of $27,768.42. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 303,804 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,707,378.48. The trade was a 1.60 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director David M. Mott acquired 77,729 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 24th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $5.00 per share, with a total value of $388,645.00. Following the purchase, the director now owns 2,015,494 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $10,077,470. This trade represents a 4.01 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders purchased 490,029 shares of company stock valued at $2,377,766 and sold 141,408 shares valued at $761,963. Corporate insiders own 5.90% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Ardelyx

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in ARDX. Janus Henderson Group PLC boosted its position in Ardelyx by 13.3% during the 4th quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 24,387,941 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $123,587,000 after acquiring an additional 2,858,061 shares in the last quarter. Two Seas Capital LP bought a new stake in shares of Ardelyx during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $9,407,000. Rock Springs Capital Management LP purchased a new stake in Ardelyx in the fourth quarter worth $7,421,000. D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. raised its holdings in Ardelyx by 9,499.8% in the fourth quarter. D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. now owns 1,468,668 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock worth $7,446,000 after purchasing an additional 1,453,369 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Point72 Asset Management L.P. bought a new position in Ardelyx in the fourth quarter worth $6,762,000. 58.92% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Ardelyx Company Profile

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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat's editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.