Ardelyx (NASDAQ:ARDX) Trading Up 7.9% – What’s Next?

Shares of Ardelyx, Inc. (NASDAQ:ARDX) shot up 7.9% on Tuesday . The stock traded as high as $6.22 and last traded at $6.25. 1,314,370 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 68% from the average session volume of 4,156,478 shares. The stock had previously closed at $5.79.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on ARDX shares. Cantor Fitzgerald raised Ardelyx to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Citigroup lowered their price objective on shares of Ardelyx from $12.00 to $10.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, November 4th. Piper Sandler boosted their target price on shares of Ardelyx from $7.00 to $8.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Jefferies Financial Group lowered their price target on shares of Ardelyx from $11.00 to $8.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, January 2nd. Finally, HC Wainwright reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $5.50 price objective on shares of Ardelyx in a report on Thursday, January 16th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $9.42.

Ardelyx Stock Performance

The company has a market capitalization of $1.35 billion, a P/E ratio of -19.07 and a beta of 0.85. The company has a current ratio of 4.03, a quick ratio of 3.87 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64. The company’s fifty day moving average is $5.29 and its 200 day moving average is $5.64.

Ardelyx (NASDAQ:ARDX) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, February 20th. The biopharmaceutical company reported $0.02 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.02. Ardelyx had a negative return on equity of 46.60% and a negative net margin of 28.82%. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Ardelyx, Inc. will post -0.17 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Ardelyx

In related news, CEO Michael Raab sold 25,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $5.38, for a total transaction of $134,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,150,385 shares in the company, valued at $6,189,071.30. The trade was a 2.13 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director David M. Mott purchased 199,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 21st. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $4.99 per share, for a total transaction of $993,010.00. Following the acquisition, the director now owns 1,937,765 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,669,447.35. This represents a 11.44 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders sold 133,332 shares of company stock valued at $710,576 in the last quarter. 5.90% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Ardelyx

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of ARDX. GF Fund Management CO. LTD. purchased a new stake in shares of Ardelyx during the 4th quarter valued at $25,000. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. purchased a new stake in Ardelyx during the fourth quarter valued at about $35,000. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. bought a new stake in Ardelyx during the fourth quarter worth about $41,000. Quarry LP purchased a new position in shares of Ardelyx in the 4th quarter worth about $51,000. Finally, Rehmann Capital Advisory Group bought a new position in shares of Ardelyx during the 4th quarter valued at about $51,000. 58.92% of the stock is currently owned by 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.