Ardelyx (NASDAQ:ARDX) Price Target Lowered to $8.00 at Jefferies Financial Group

Ardelyx (NASDAQ:ARDX - Get Free Report) had its price target reduced by equities research analysts at Jefferies Financial Group from $11.00 to $8.00 in a note issued to investors on Thursday,Benzinga reports. The firm presently has a "buy" rating on the biopharmaceutical company's stock. Jefferies Financial Group's price target indicates a potential upside of 56.25% from the stock's current price.

Several other brokerages have also recently issued reports on ARDX. Citigroup decreased their price objective on Ardelyx from $12.00 to $10.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, November 4th. HC Wainwright cut shares of Ardelyx from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and reduced their price target for the stock from $11.00 to $5.50 in a research report on Monday, November 11th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Ardelyx presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $10.07.

Ardelyx Price Performance

Shares of ARDX stock traded up $0.05 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $5.12. The company had a trading volume of 4,827,026 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,881,870. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64, a current ratio of 4.03 and a quick ratio of 3.87. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $5.28 and its 200-day moving average price is $5.73. Ardelyx has a 52-week low of $4.32 and a 52-week high of $10.13. The company has a market capitalization of $1.21 billion, a P/E ratio of -17.07 and a beta of 0.83.

Insider Buying and Selling at Ardelyx

In other news, insider Laura A. Williams sold 7,366 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $4.79, for a total transaction of $35,283.14. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 308,745 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,478,888.55. The trade was a 2.33 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider David P. Rosenbaum sold 27,172 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $5.95, for a total transaction of $161,673.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 153,616 shares in the company, valued at approximately $914,015.20. The trade was a 15.03 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 184,192 shares of company stock worth $1,013,345 over the last quarter. Insiders own 5.90% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank increased its position in Ardelyx by 34.5% during the 2nd quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 63,176 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $468,000 after purchasing an additional 16,198 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its stake in Ardelyx by 283.9% in the second quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 471,453 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock worth $3,493,000 after buying an additional 348,642 shares in the last quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC bought a new position in Ardelyx in the second quarter worth approximately $832,000. Ausdal Financial Partners Inc. lifted its holdings in Ardelyx by 89.1% during the second quarter. Ausdal Financial Partners Inc. now owns 28,770 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock worth $213,000 after buying an additional 13,557 shares during the period. Finally, Redwood Wealth Management Group LLC bought a new stake in Ardelyx during the 2nd quarter valued at $62,000. 58.92% of the stock is currently 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.