Ardelyx (NASDAQ:ARDX) Rating Increased to Strong-Buy at Cantor Fitzgerald

Ardelyx (NASDAQ:ARDX) was upgraded by research analysts at Cantor Fitzgerald to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note issued to investors on Thursday,Zacks.com reports.

A number of other research firms also recently commented on ARDX. Citigroup dropped their price objective on shares of Ardelyx from $12.00 to $10.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, November 4th. Piper Sandler lifted their price target on shares of Ardelyx from $7.00 to $8.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, January 27th. HC Wainwright restated a “neutral” rating and set a $5.50 price objective on shares of Ardelyx in a report on Thursday, January 16th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group reduced their target price on Ardelyx from $11.00 to $8.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, January 2nd. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $9.42.

Ardelyx Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:ARDX opened at $5.36 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $1.27 billion, a P/E ratio of -17.87 and a beta of 0.85. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $5.23 and a 200-day simple moving average of $5.64. Ardelyx has a 52 week low of $4.32 and a 52 week high of $10.13. The company has a quick ratio of 3.87, a current ratio of 4.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64.

Insider Buying and Selling at Ardelyx

In other Ardelyx news, Director David M. Mott bought 213,300 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 19th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $4.67 per share, for a total transaction of $996,111.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now directly owns 1,638,765 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,653,032.55. The trade was a 14.96 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider David P. Rosenbaum sold 27,171 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $6.10, for a total value of $165,743.10. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 153,616 shares in the company, valued at approximately $937,057.60. This trade represents a 15.03 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 235,024 shares of company stock valued at $1,265,096 over the last three months. 5.90% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Ardelyx

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in ARDX. B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. raised its holdings in Ardelyx by 3.4% in the third quarter. B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 90,000 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $599,000 after acquiring an additional 3,000 shares in the last quarter. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. increased its position in shares of Ardelyx by 10.9% in the 4th quarter. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 50,222 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $255,000 after purchasing an additional 4,942 shares during the last quarter. Aigen Investment Management LP raised its stake in shares of Ardelyx by 29.4% in the 3rd quarter. Aigen Investment Management LP now owns 23,510 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $162,000 after purchasing an additional 5,346 shares in the last quarter. Values First Advisors Inc. lifted its position in shares of Ardelyx by 14.6% during the third quarter. Values First Advisors Inc. now owns 46,282 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $319,000 after purchasing an additional 5,890 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Rhumbline Advisers grew its stake in Ardelyx by 1.9% in the fourth quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 326,124 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $1,653,000 after purchasing an additional 6,070 shares in the last quarter. 58.92% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Ardelyx Company Profile

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.