Ardelyx (NASDAQ:ARDX) Given “Overweight” Rating at Piper Sandler

Piper Sandler reiterated their overweight rating on shares of Ardelyx (NASDAQ:ARDX) in a research note released on Friday morning, Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a $15.00 price objective on the biopharmaceutical company’s stock.

A number of other brokerages have also issued reports on ARDX. StockNews.com lowered shares of Ardelyx from a hold rating to a sell rating in a research note on Tuesday. Wedbush reaffirmed an outperform rating and issued a $15.00 target price on shares of Ardelyx in a report on Friday. Citigroup lifted their price target on Ardelyx from $13.00 to $14.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a report on Friday, May 3rd. Leerink Partnrs restated an outperform rating on shares of Ardelyx in a report on Friday, April 5th. Finally, SVB Leerink initiated coverage on Ardelyx in a research report on Friday, April 5th. They issued an outperform rating and a $14.00 target price for the company. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of Moderate Buy and an average target price of $12.81.

Ardelyx Stock Performance

Shares of ARDX stock opened at $6.75 on Friday. The company has a 50-day moving average of $7.38 and a two-hundred day moving average of $7.23. Ardelyx has a 1-year low of $3.16 and a 1-year high of $10.13. The company has a quick ratio of 4.36, a current ratio of 4.53 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66.

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Ardelyx news, CEO Michael Raab sold 7,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, April 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $7.06, for a total value of $52,950.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 1,310,933 shares in the company, valued at $9,255,186.98. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In related news, CEO Michael Raab sold 7,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $7.06, for a total value of $52,950.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,310,933 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,255,186.98. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider David P. Rosenbaum sold 5,183 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction 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 sale, the insider now owns 175,936 shares in the company, valued at $1,618,611.20. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 381,138 shares of company stock worth $3,158,429. 5.50% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. HighMark Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Ardelyx in the 1st quarter valued at about $36,000. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. acquired a new stake in Ardelyx during the first quarter worth approximately $64,000. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. purchased a new stake in Ardelyx in the 4th quarter worth approximately $62,000. Jump Financial LLC acquired a new position in Ardelyx in the 4th quarter valued at $63,000. Finally, Paloma Partners Management Co acquired a new stake in shares of Ardelyx during the first quarter worth $86,000. 58.92% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.