Ardelyx (NASDAQ:ARDX) Trading Down 6.8% on Insider Selling
by Amy Steele · The Cerbat GemArdelyx, Inc. (NASDAQ:ARDX – Get Free Report)’s share price was down 6.8% on Monday after an insider sold shares in the company. The company traded as low as $7.21 and last traded at $7.2150. Approximately 2,661,161 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 71% from the average daily volume of 9,203,950 shares. The stock had previously closed at $7.74.
Specifically, insider Laura A. Williams sold 50,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $6.98, for a total transaction of $349,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 361,563 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,523,709.74. This represents a 12.15% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink.
Analyst Ratings Changes
A number of equities analysts have commented on ARDX shares. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Ardelyx in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. TD Cowen raised their price objective on Ardelyx from $9.00 to $10.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, October 31st. Raymond James Financial reaffirmed a “strong-buy” rating and set a $19.00 target price on shares of Ardelyx in a report on Thursday. Citigroup raised their price objective on shares of Ardelyx from $11.00 to $14.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday. Finally, Wedbush cut Ardelyx from an “outperform” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 25th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have assigned a Buy rating, one has assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Ardelyx currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $13.80.
Get Our Latest Stock Report on ARDX
Ardelyx Stock Performance
The company has a fifty day moving average price of $5.89 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $5.51. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.31, a current ratio of 4.41 and a quick ratio of 4.11. The company has a market capitalization of $1.76 billion, a P/E ratio of -31.50 and a beta of 0.56.
Ardelyx (NASDAQ:ARDX – Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, October 30th. The biopharmaceutical company reported $0.00 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.06) by $0.06. The business had revenue of $110.33 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $100.44 million. Ardelyx had a negative net margin of 14.20% and a negative return on equity of 36.91%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 14.6% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts forecast that Ardelyx, Inc. will post -0.18 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.
Hedge Funds Weigh In On Ardelyx
Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. grew its stake in Ardelyx by 2.9% in the first quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 159,061 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $781,000 after acquiring an additional 4,436 shares during the period. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. raised its position in Ardelyx by 10.3% in the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 2,378,738 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $11,680,000 after buying an additional 221,486 shares during the last quarter. Focus Partners Wealth purchased a new position in Ardelyx during the 1st quarter worth $72,000. Strs Ohio purchased a new stake in shares of Ardelyx in the first quarter valued at about $135,000. Finally, Rhumbline Advisers grew its position in Ardelyx by 4.1% in the 1st quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 339,436 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $1,667,000 after purchasing an additional 13,312 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 58.92% of the company’s stock.
About Ardelyx
Ardelyx, Inc (NASDAQ: ARDX) is a clinical‐stage biopharmaceutical company focused on discovering, developing and commercializing targeted small molecule drugs for cardio‐renal and gastrointestinal diseases. The company’s lead marketed product, tenapanor (sold under the brand name XPHOZAH in the United States), is approved for the treatment of hyperphosphatemia in patients with chronic kidney disease on dialysis. Ardelyx’s proprietary approach targets epithelial transporters in the gastrointestinal tract, offering localized activity with limited systemic exposure.
Beyond tenapanor, Ardelyx’s development pipeline includes treatments designed to address other complications in kidney disease and related metabolic disorders.