Ardelyx (NASDAQ:ARDX) Shares Down 2.9% – Time to Sell?

by · The Cerbat Gem

Ardelyx, Inc. (NASDAQ:ARDX – Get Free Report) dropped 2.9% during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The stock traded as low as $5.14 and last traded at $5.17. Approximately 1,123,619 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 74% from the average daily volume of 4,307,325 shares. The stock had previously closed at $5.32.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

ARDX has been the topic of several research reports. HC Wainwright reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $5.50 target price on shares of Ardelyx in a research report on Friday, February 21st. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $11.00 target price on shares of Ardelyx in a research report on Friday, March 7th. Scotiabank started coverage on Ardelyx in a research report on Friday, March 7th. They set a “sector outperform” rating and a $15.00 price target on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group cut their price target on Ardelyx from $11.00 to $8.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, January 2nd. Finally, Raymond James reaffirmed a “strong-buy” rating and set a $13.00 price target (down from $15.00) on shares of Ardelyx in a research report on Friday, February 21st. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $10.95.

View Our Latest Stock Report on ARDX

Ardelyx Price Performance

The company has a current ratio of 4.58, a quick ratio of 4.31 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.87. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.20 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -32.39 and a beta of 0.87. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $5.43 and a 200 day moving average price of $5.55.

Ardelyx (NASDAQ:ARDX – Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 20th. The biopharmaceutical company reported $0.02 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.02. The firm had revenue of $116.13 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $111.16 million. Ardelyx had a negative net margin of 11.73% and a negative return on equity of 24.87%. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Ardelyx, Inc. will post -0.18 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity at Ardelyx

In related news, insider Laura A. Williams sold 4,941 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $5.62, for a total value of $27,768.42. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 303,804 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,707,378.48. This trade represents a 1.60 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Michael Raab sold 41,666 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $5.31, for a total transaction of $221,246.46. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,129,552 shares in the company, valued at $5,997,921.12. This represents a 3.56 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 158,076 shares of company stock valued at $853,804. 5.90% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of ARDX. Intech Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in Ardelyx in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $423,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its stake in Ardelyx by 2.1% in the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,938,778 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $13,358,000 after purchasing an additional 40,702 shares in the last quarter. Alpha DNA Investment Management LLC lifted its stake in Ardelyx by 20.5% in the 3rd quarter. Alpha DNA Investment Management LLC now owns 74,137 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $511,000 after purchasing an additional 12,601 shares in the last quarter. Pekin Hardy Strauss Inc. lifted its stake in Ardelyx by 2.8% in the 3rd quarter. Pekin Hardy Strauss Inc. now owns 546,410 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $3,765,000 after purchasing an additional 14,750 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Propel Bio Management LLC lifted its stake in Ardelyx by 15.8% in the 3rd quarter. Propel Bio Management LLC now owns 1,070,947 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $7,379,000 after purchasing an additional 146,364 shares in the last quarter. 58.92% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Ardelyx

(Get Free Report)

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.

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