Ardelyx (NASDAQ:ARDX) Receives “Buy” Rating from BTIG Research

Ardelyx (NASDAQ:ARDX)‘s stock had its “buy” rating restated by equities research analysts at BTIG Research in a note issued to investors on Friday,Benzinga reports. They currently have a $17.00 price target on the biopharmaceutical company’s stock. BTIG Research’s price objective indicates a potential upside of 152.23% from the stock’s previous close.

Other research analysts have also recently issued reports about the company. Citigroup boosted their target price on Ardelyx from $11.00 to $14.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 9th. Raymond James Financial reiterated a “strong-buy” rating and set a $19.00 price objective on shares of Ardelyx in a report on Thursday, January 8th. Jefferies Financial Group reissued a “buy” rating and set a $15.00 target price on shares of Ardelyx in a research note on Tuesday, January 27th. HC Wainwright raised their target price on shares of Ardelyx from $10.00 to $18.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday. Finally, Wedbush lifted their price target on shares of Ardelyx from $16.00 to $19.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 21st. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have given a Buy rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $15.09.

Ardelyx Trading Up 0.3%

ARDX opened at $6.74 on Friday. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $6.78 and its two-hundred day moving average is $6.10. The firm has a market cap of $1.64 billion, a PE ratio of -29.30 and a beta of 0.57. Ardelyx has a twelve month low of $3.21 and a twelve month high of $8.40. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.31, a quick ratio of 4.11 and a current ratio of 4.41.

Ardelyx (NASDAQ:ARDX) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 19th. The biopharmaceutical company reported ($0.01) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.02 by ($0.03). Ardelyx had a negative net margin of 14.20% and a negative return on equity of 36.91%. The firm had revenue of $125.22 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $118.04 million. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.02 EPS. Ardelyx’s quarterly revenue was up 7.8% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts anticipate that Ardelyx will post -0.18 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Ardelyx news, insider Laura A. Williams sold 50,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $6.98, for a total transaction of $349,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 361,563 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,523,709.74. This represents a 12.15% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Insiders own 4.80% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Ardelyx

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in ARDX. DCF Advisers LLC acquired a new position in Ardelyx during the second quarter worth $39,000. Brighton Jones LLC acquired a new position in shares of Ardelyx during the 2nd quarter worth about $40,000. First Horizon Corp boosted its stake in shares of Ardelyx by 120.4% during the 4th quarter. First Horizon Corp now owns 7,906 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $46,000 after buying an additional 4,319 shares during the last quarter. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. grew its holdings in shares of Ardelyx by 147.0% in the 3rd quarter. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. now owns 10,253 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $56,000 after acquiring an additional 6,102 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Swiss Life Asset Management Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of Ardelyx in the third quarter valued at about $57,000. 58.92% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Ardelyx

Ardelyx, Inc (NASDAQ: ARDX) is a clinical‐stage biopharmaceutical company focused on discovering, developing and commercializing targeted small molecule drugs for cardio‐renal and gastrointestinal diseases. The company’s lead marketed product, tenapanor (sold under the brand name XPHOZAH in the United States), is approved for the treatment of hyperphosphatemia in patients with chronic kidney disease on dialysis. Ardelyx’s proprietary approach targets epithelial transporters in the gastrointestinal tract, offering localized activity with limited systemic exposure.

Beyond tenapanor, Ardelyx’s development pipeline includes treatments designed to address other complications in kidney disease and related metabolic disorders.