Ardelyx (NASDAQ:ARDX) Price Target Cut to $10.00

Ardelyx (NASDAQ:ARDX) had its target price dropped by stock analysts at Citigroup from $14.00 to $10.00 in a research report issued to clients and investors on Wednesday, Benzinga reports. The firm presently has a “buy” rating on the biopharmaceutical company’s stock. Citigroup’s price target suggests a potential upside of 87.97% from the stock’s current price.

Other analysts have also issued research reports about the company. StockNews.com lowered Ardelyx from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Friday, June 28th. Cantor Fitzgerald restated an “overweight” rating on shares of Ardelyx in a research report on Thursday, June 20th. Leerink Partnrs reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Ardelyx in a report on Friday, April 5th. SVB Leerink started coverage on Ardelyx in a report on Friday, April 5th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $14.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Wedbush reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $15.00 price objective on shares of Ardelyx in a research report on Friday, May 24th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has assigned a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $11.31.

Ardelyx Stock Performance

NASDAQ:ARDX opened at $5.32 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66, a current ratio of 4.53 and a quick ratio of 4.36. The firm has a market cap of $1.24 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -19.00 and a beta of 0.83. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $6.95 and its 200 day moving average price is $7.61. Ardelyx has a 1-year low of $3.16 and a 1-year high of $10.13.

Ardelyx (NASDAQ:ARDX) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 2nd. The biopharmaceutical company reported ($0.11) earnings per share 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 firm had revenue of $46.00 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $36.40 million. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned ($0.13) earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 303.5% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Ardelyx will post -0.36 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Ardelyx news, insider Robert Blanks sold 38,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $5.96, for a total transaction of $226,480.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 324,331 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,933,012.76. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In other Ardelyx news, insider Robert Blanks sold 38,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $5.96, for a total transaction of $226,480.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 324,331 shares in the company, valued at $1,933,012.76. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Michael Raab sold 7,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, April 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $7.06, for a total transaction of $52,950.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,310,933 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,255,186.98. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 534,119 shares of company stock valued at $4,117,225. 5.50% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Ardelyx

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in Ardelyx by 2.8% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 13,391,855 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $97,761,000 after acquiring an additional 365,809 shares in the last quarter. Eventide Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Ardelyx by 152.5% in the fourth quarter. Eventide Asset Management LLC now owns 6,805,494 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $42,194,000 after acquiring an additional 4,110,494 shares in the last quarter. Rubric Capital Management LP lifted its stake in shares of Ardelyx by 60.5% in the fourth quarter. Rubric Capital Management LP now owns 4,012,753 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $24,879,000 after acquiring an additional 1,512,753 shares in the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD boosted its holdings in Ardelyx by 68.0% in the first quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 3,913,863 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $28,572,000 after purchasing an additional 1,584,597 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. acquired a new stake in Ardelyx during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $9,384,000. 58.92% of the stock is currently 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.