Citigroup Lowers Ardelyx (NASDAQ:ARDX) Price Target to $10.00

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

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

Ardelyx Trading Up 0.8 %

Shares of NASDAQ:ARDX traded up $0.04 on Wednesday, hitting $5.32. The company had a trading volume of 7,942,070 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,801,568. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $7.00 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $7.64. 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. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.24 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -19.00 and a beta of 0.83.

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

Insider Activity

In other news, insider David P. Rosenbaum sold 17,872 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $7.00, for a total transaction of $125,104.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 158,502 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,109,514. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other news, insider David P. Rosenbaum sold 17,872 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $7.00, for a total transaction of $125,104.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 158,502 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,109,514. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Robert Ora Felsch sold 207,988 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the insider now owns 95,947 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $845,293.07. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 534,119 shares of company stock valued at $4,117,225 in the last 90 days. 5.50% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Ardelyx

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. GSA Capital Partners LLP boosted its position in shares of Ardelyx by 1,183.6% in the third quarter. GSA Capital Partners LLP now owns 549,695 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $2,243,000 after purchasing an additional 506,872 shares during the period. Rubric Capital Management LP boosted its position 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 purchasing an additional 1,512,753 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Ardelyx by 0.9% in the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 11,565,800 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $47,188,000 after purchasing an additional 97,951 shares during the period. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of Ardelyx by 37.2% in the first quarter. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. now owns 438,827 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $3,203,000 after purchasing an additional 118,879 shares during the period. Finally, Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. bought a new position in shares of Ardelyx in the third quarter worth approximately $9,384,000. 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.