LADENBURG THALM/SH SH Reiterates Buy Rating for Ardelyx (NASDAQ:ARDX)

Ardelyx (NASDAQ:ARDX - Get Free Report)'s stock had its "buy" rating restated by investment analysts at LADENBURG THALM/SH SH in a research note issued on Friday, MarketBeat.com reports. They currently have a $11.00 target price on the biopharmaceutical company's stock. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH's target price would indicate a potential upside of 95.73% from the stock's previous close.

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

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Ardelyx Stock Performance

Ardelyx stock traded up $0.38 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $5.62. The company had a trading volume of 2,979,880 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,391,912. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $5.39 and a 200 day moving average of $5.58. 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 firm has a market cap of $1.34 billion, a PE ratio of -35.13 and a beta of 0.87. Ardelyx has a one year low of $4.32 and a one year high of $9.33.

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

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Michael Raab sold 41,666 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $5.31, for a total value of $221,246.46. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 1,129,552 shares in the company, valued at $5,997,921.12. This trade represents a 3.56 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director David M. Mott purchased 213,300 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 19th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $4.67 per share, with a total value of $996,111.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 1,638,765 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,653,032.55. This trade represents a 14.96 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have purchased 490,029 shares of company stock worth $2,377,766 and have sold 158,076 shares worth $853,804. 5.90% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Ardelyx

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. State Street Corp grew its position in shares of Ardelyx by 1.5% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 12,141,850 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock worth $83,657,000 after buying an additional 176,789 shares during the period. Rubric Capital Management LP grew its holdings in Ardelyx by 68.5% in the third quarter. Rubric Capital Management LP now owns 3,060,191 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock worth $21,085,000 after purchasing an additional 1,243,606 shares during the period. BNP Paribas Financial Markets increased its stake in Ardelyx by 274.3% in the third quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 181,387 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $1,250,000 after purchasing an additional 132,928 shares in the last quarter. Vestal Point Capital LP acquired a new position in shares of Ardelyx during the third quarter valued at about $3,445,000. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its position in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 6,093 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 58.92% of the company's stock.

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.