Ardelyx (NASDAQ:ARDX) Stock Rating Lowered by StockNews.com

Ardelyx (NASDAQ:ARDX) was downgraded by StockNews.com from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a note issued to investors on Tuesday.

Several other analysts also recently issued reports on ARDX. Piper Sandler upped their price objective on Ardelyx from $12.00 to $15.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, February 23rd. Wedbush upped their target price on shares of Ardelyx from $14.00 to $15.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, May 3rd. Leerink Partnrs reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Ardelyx in a report on Friday, April 5th. SVB Leerink initiated coverage on shares of Ardelyx in a research note on Friday, April 5th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $14.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Citigroup raised their target price on shares of Ardelyx from $13.00 to $14.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, May 3rd. One equities 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, Ardelyx presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $12.81.

Ardelyx Stock Performance

Shares of ARDX opened at $7.82 on Tuesday. Ardelyx has a 12-month low of $3.16 and a 12-month high of $10.13. The stock has a market cap of $1.82 billion, a P/E ratio of -27.93 and a beta of 0.87. The company has a current ratio of 4.53, a quick ratio of 4.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66. The company has a 50-day moving average of $7.42 and a two-hundred day moving average of $7.21.

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Robert Ora Felsch sold 207,988 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, May 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $8.81, for a total transaction of $1,832,374.28. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 95,947 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $845,293.07. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. In other news, insider Robert Ora Felsch sold 207,988 shares of Ardelyx stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $8.81, for a total value of $1,832,374.28. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 95,947 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $845,293.07. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Elizabeth A. Grammer sold 86,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $7.73, for a total transaction of $664,780.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly 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 have sold a total of 381,138 shares of company stock valued at $3,158,429 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 5.50% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Ardelyx

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Eventide Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in Ardelyx by 152.5% in the 4th quarter. Eventide Asset Management LLC now owns 6,805,494 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $42,194,000 after purchasing an additional 4,110,494 shares in the last quarter. Rubric Capital Management LP acquired a new stake in shares of Ardelyx in the third quarter valued at about $10,200,000. Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. purchased a new stake in shares of Ardelyx during the 3rd quarter valued at about $9,384,000. Redmile Group LLC acquired a new position in Ardelyx during the 1st quarter worth approximately $16,020,000. Finally, Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD boosted its holdings in Ardelyx by 68.0% in the 1st quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 3,913,863 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $28,572,000 after acquiring an additional 1,584,597 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other 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.