It’s been a good day for Ardelyx (NASDAQ:ARDX), as this biotech stock brought its week to a close on a gain. It’s up over 12% in Friday afternoon’s trading session, and it’s thanks largely to two factors: a likely win at the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), and an upgrade from analysts in anticipation of said win.
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Cantor Fitzgerald, by way of analyst Louise Chen, upgraded Ardelyx to “overweight” in light of a very strong potential win. The analysts expect that Xphozah, a drug geared toward targeting serum phosphate levels in dialysis patients, now has an 80% chance of clearing the FDA, up from just 10% previously. Further, analysts noted that Wall Street has failed to recognize the kinds of sales that Xphozah is likely to have just by being available.
There are other factors at work here, too; with phosphate-lowering drugs not likely to be part of Medicare’s standard “dialysis bundle” until 2033, that’s going to help Xpohzah’s sales for some time to come. Further, Ardelyx doesn’t just have Xpohzah in the toolbox; it’s also got Ibsrela, which is considered a “first-in-class” treatment for irritable bowel syndrome. While there are certainly long-term concerns about Ardelyx going forward, there is also plenty of reason to be interested here.
And for the most part, analysts are absolutely on board. In fact, they’re unanimously on board; four Buy ratings qualifies Ardelyx stock as a Strong Buy. Further, Ardelyx stock also offers a whopping 119.31% upside potential thanks to its average price target of $8.63 per share.
