Ardelyx (NASDAQ:ARDX) Stock Price Down 8.1% After Insider Selling

Ardelyx, Inc. (NASDAQ:ARDX) traded down 8.1% during trading on Wednesday after an insider sold shares in the company. The company traded as low as $8.54 and last traded at $8.56. 3,073,703 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 51% from the average session volume of 6,265,205 shares. The stock had previously closed at $9.31.

Specifically, insider Laura A. Williams sold 39,949 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, May 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $8.35, for a total transaction of $333,574.15. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 370,189 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,091,078.15. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other Ardelyx news, insider Laura A. Williams sold 39,949 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, May 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $8.35, for a total transaction of $333,574.15. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 370,189 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,091,078.15. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Michael Raab sold 30,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, April 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $6.40, for a total value of $192,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,310,933 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,389,971.20. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 218,769 shares of company stock valued at $1,734,099 over the last ninety days. Insiders own 5.50% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Citigroup upped their price target on shares of Ardelyx from $13.00 to $14.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, May 3rd. SVB Leerink initiated coverage on Ardelyx in a research note on Friday, April 5th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $14.00 price target for the company. Cantor Fitzgerald reissued an “overweight” rating on shares of Ardelyx in a research note on Friday, January 12th. Wedbush lifted their target price on shares of Ardelyx from $14.00 to $15.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, May 3rd. Finally, Raymond James increased their price target on shares of Ardelyx from $12.00 to $15.00 and gave the stock a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 9th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Ardelyx has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $12.81.

Ardelyx Price Performance

The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $7.66 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $6.91. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66, a current ratio of 4.53 and a quick ratio of 4.36. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.00 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -31.00 and a beta of 0.87.

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

Institutional Trading of Ardelyx

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in ARDX. Xponance Inc. increased its position in Ardelyx by 12.6% during the fourth quarter. Xponance Inc. now owns 14,112 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $87,000 after acquiring an additional 1,575 shares during the period. Mackenzie Financial Corp grew its position in Ardelyx by 5.6% in the 4th quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 30,269 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $188,000 after purchasing an additional 1,608 shares during the last quarter. Arizona State Retirement System increased its holdings in shares of Ardelyx by 5.3% during the 3rd quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 61,064 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $249,000 after purchasing an additional 3,064 shares during the period. Teacher Retirement System of Texas lifted its stake in shares of Ardelyx by 8.0% in the third quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas now owns 60,357 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $246,000 after buying an additional 4,452 shares during the period. Finally, ProShare Advisors LLC grew its position in Ardelyx by 8.9% during the first quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 57,729 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $421,000 after buying an additional 4,735 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 58.92% of the company’s stock.

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.