Ardelyx (NASDAQ:ARDX) Cut to “Sell” at StockNews.com

StockNews.com cut shares of Ardelyx (NASDAQ:ARDX) from a hold rating to a sell rating in a research note published on Tuesday.

A number of other research firms have also weighed in on ARDX. Piper Sandler boosted their target price on shares of Ardelyx from $12.00 to $15.00 and gave the stock an overweight rating in a report on Friday, February 23rd. Citigroup raised their target price on Ardelyx from $13.00 to $14.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a research report on Friday, May 3rd. SVB Leerink assumed coverage on Ardelyx in a research report on Friday, April 5th. They issued an outperform rating and a $14.00 price target on the stock. Wedbush increased their price target on Ardelyx from $14.00 to $15.00 and gave the company an outperform rating in a research note on Friday, May 3rd. Finally, Leerink Partnrs reaffirmed an outperform rating on shares of Ardelyx in a research note on Friday, April 5th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and an average target price of $12.81.

Ardelyx Stock Down 9.3 %

Shares of NASDAQ:ARDX opened at $6.75 on Tuesday. Ardelyx has a 52-week low of $3.16 and a 52-week high of $10.13. The company has a market capitalization of $1.57 billion, a PE ratio of -24.11 and a beta of 0.87. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66, a quick ratio of 4.36 and a current ratio of 4.53. The company has a fifty day moving average of $7.38 and a 200-day moving average of $7.23.

Ardelyx (NASDAQ:ARDX) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, May 2nd. The biopharmaceutical company reported ($0.11) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.13) by $0.02. The business had revenue of $46.00 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $36.40 million. Ardelyx had a negative return on equity of 41.65% and a negative net margin of 41.36%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 303.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned ($0.13) EPS. On average, equities analysts predict that Ardelyx will post -0.36 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Ardelyx

In related news, insider David P. Rosenbaum sold 5,183 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $9.20, for a total transaction of $47,683.60. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 175,936 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,618,611.20. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other Ardelyx news, insider David P. Rosenbaum sold 5,183 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $9.20, for a total value of $47,683.60. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 175,936 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,618,611.20. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Elizabeth A. Grammer sold 86,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $7.73, for a total value of $664,780.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 312,993 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,419,435.89. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 381,138 shares of company stock valued at $3,158,429 in the last quarter. 5.50% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in ARDX. Farallon Capital Management LLC bought a new position in Ardelyx in the 1st quarter valued at about $168,000. Virtu Financial LLC bought a new position in Ardelyx during the first quarter valued at $220,000. Castleark Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Ardelyx in the first quarter valued at approximately $1,571,000. Bayesian Capital Management LP purchased a new stake in shares of Ardelyx during the first quarter worth $657,000. Finally, Redmile Group LLC bought a new position in Ardelyx in the 1st quarter valued at $16,020,000. 58.92% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.