Insider Selling: Ardelyx, Inc. (NASDAQ:ARDX) Insider Sells 207,988 Shares of Stock

Ardelyx, Inc. (NASDAQ:ARDX) insider Robert Ora Felsch sold 207,988 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $8.81, for a total value of $1,832,374.28. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 95,947 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $845,293.07. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink.

Ardelyx Stock Performance

NASDAQ:ARDX traded down $0.42 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $8.06. 5,757,668 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 6,286,438. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66, a quick ratio of 4.36 and a current ratio of 4.53. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.89 billion, a PE ratio of -30.29 and a beta of 0.87. Ardelyx, Inc. has a one year low of $3.16 and a one year high of $10.13. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $7.64 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $6.92.

Ardelyx (NASDAQ:ARDX) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 2nd. The biopharmaceutical company reported ($0.11) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.13) by $0.02. The business had revenue of $46.00 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $36.40 million. Ardelyx had a negative return on equity of 41.65% and a negative net margin of 41.36%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 303.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted ($0.13) earnings per share. Analysts anticipate that Ardelyx, Inc. will post -0.44 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in Ardelyx by 0.9% during the 3rd 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 in the last quarter. Eventide Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Ardelyx by 152.5% during the 4th quarter. Eventide Asset Management LLC now owns 6,805,494 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $42,194,000 after acquiring an additional 4,110,494 shares in the last quarter. Rubric Capital Management LP grew its position in Ardelyx by 60.5% during the 4th quarter. Rubric Capital Management LP now owns 4,012,753 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $24,879,000 after acquiring an additional 1,512,753 shares during the last quarter. Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. bought a new stake in Ardelyx during the 3rd quarter worth $9,384,000. Finally, Barclays PLC raised its position in Ardelyx by 93.5% in the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 1,895,327 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $7,732,000 after purchasing an additional 915,971 shares during the last quarter. 58.92% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

ARDX has been the subject of several analyst reports. Citigroup raised their target price on shares of Ardelyx from $13.00 to $14.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, May 3rd. StockNews.com cut shares of Ardelyx from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Monday, February 26th. Wedbush lifted their price target on Ardelyx from $14.00 to $15.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, May 3rd. Cantor Fitzgerald restated an “overweight” rating on shares of Ardelyx in a research note on Friday, January 12th. Finally, Piper Sandler lifted their target price on Ardelyx from $12.00 to $15.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, February 23rd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $12.81.

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.