Ardelyx (NASDAQ:ARDX) Hits New 1-Year High After Analyst Upgrade

Ardelyx, Inc. (NASDAQ:ARDX)’s stock price hit a new 52-week high during trading on Wednesday after Wedbush raised their price target on the stock from $16.00 to $19.00. Wedbush currently has an outperform rating on the stock. Ardelyx traded as high as $8.17 and last traded at $8.0850, with a volume of 2709575 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $7.76.

Other research analysts also recently issued research reports about the stock. Citigroup boosted their target price on shares of Ardelyx from $11.00 to $14.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 9th. Cowen restated a “buy” rating on shares of Ardelyx in a research report on Friday, October 31st. TD Cowen lifted their price target on Ardelyx from $9.00 to $10.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, October 31st. BTIG Research upped their price objective on Ardelyx from $14.00 to $17.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 9th. Finally, Piper Sandler raised shares of Ardelyx from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $10.00 to $16.00 in a research report on Thursday, January 8th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have assigned a Buy rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $14.30.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Elizabeth A. Grammer sold 5,995 shares of Ardelyx stock in a transaction on Friday, November 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $5.54, for a total transaction of $33,212.30. Following the sale, the insider owned 299,895 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,661,418.30. The trade was a 1.96% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Michael Raab sold 46,887 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, November 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $5.54, for a total transaction of $259,753.98. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 1,455,363 shares in the company, valued at $8,062,711.02. This represents a 3.12% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold a total of 114,868 shares of company stock valued at $708,369 in the last 90 days. Company insiders own 4.80% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Ardelyx

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. raised its position in shares of Ardelyx by 2.9% in the 1st quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 159,061 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $781,000 after purchasing an additional 4,436 shares in the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Ardelyx by 10.3% in the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 2,378,738 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $11,680,000 after buying an additional 221,486 shares during the last quarter. Focus Partners Wealth acquired a new stake in Ardelyx in the first quarter valued at $72,000. Strs Ohio acquired a new stake in Ardelyx in the first quarter valued at $135,000. Finally, Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC boosted its stake in Ardelyx by 21.9% during the 2nd quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 65,030 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $278,000 after acquiring an additional 11,694 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 58.92% of the company’s stock.

Ardelyx Stock Performance

The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $6.07 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $5.66. The company has a market capitalization of $1.96 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -35.11 and a beta of 0.56. 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 issued its earnings results on Thursday, October 30th. The biopharmaceutical company reported $0.00 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.06) by $0.06. The business had revenue of $110.33 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $100.44 million. Ardelyx had a negative net margin of 14.20% and a negative return on equity of 36.91%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 14.6% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts predict that Ardelyx, Inc. will post -0.18 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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.