Ardelyx (NASDAQ:ARDX) Given "Neutral" Rating at HC Wainwright

HC Wainwright reiterated their neutral rating on shares of Ardelyx (NASDAQ:ARDX - Free Report) in a research note issued to investors on Thursday morning,Benzinga reports. They currently have a $5.50 price objective on the biopharmaceutical company's stock.

Other equities research analysts also recently issued reports about the company. Jefferies Financial Group cut their price target on Ardelyx from $11.00 to $8.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, January 2nd. Citigroup cut their target price on shares of Ardelyx from $12.00 to $10.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, November 4th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $9.25.

Ardelyx Stock Performance

Shares of ARDX traded down $0.15 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $5.01. The stock had a trading volume of 5,820,835 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,437,158. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.19 billion, a PE ratio of -16.70 and a beta of 0.85. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64, a current ratio of 4.03 and a quick ratio of 3.87. Ardelyx has a 12 month low of $4.32 and a 12 month high of $10.13. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $5.15 and a 200 day moving average price of $5.65.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO Michael Raab sold 41,666 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,129,552 shares of the company's stock, valued at $5,997,921.12. This represents a 3.56 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider David P. Rosenbaum sold 27,172 shares of Ardelyx stock in a transaction on Monday, November 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $5.95, for a total transaction of $161,673.40. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 153,616 shares in the company, valued at approximately $914,015.20. This trade represents a 15.03 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 218,358 shares of company stock valued at $1,189,516. 5.90% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Ardelyx

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of ARDX. State Street Corp lifted its stake in Ardelyx by 1.5% in the 3rd 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 in the last quarter. Rubric Capital Management LP lifted its position in shares of 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 buying an additional 1,243,606 shares in the last quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets boosted its stake in Ardelyx by 274.3% during the third quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 181,387 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $1,250,000 after buying an additional 132,928 shares during the last quarter. Vestal Point Capital LP purchased a new position in Ardelyx during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $3,445,000. Finally, Millennium Management LLC increased its stake 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 acquiring an additional 1,883,995 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors 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.