Ardelyx (NASDAQ:ARDX) Trading Up 6.7% – Time to Buy?

Ardelyx, Inc. (NASDAQ:ARDX) rose 6.7% during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The stock traded as high as $6.07 and last traded at $5.9350. Approximately 1,475,450 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 73% from the average daily volume of 5,513,645 shares. The stock had previously closed at $5.56.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have recently commented on ARDX. Piper Sandler lifted their price objective on Ardelyx from $9.00 to $10.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 4th. Citigroup lifted their price target on Ardelyx from $10.00 to $11.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, November 3rd. TD Cowen boosted their price objective on Ardelyx from $9.00 to $10.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, October 31st. Weiss Ratings restated a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Ardelyx in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Finally, Raymond James Financial reaffirmed a “strong-buy” rating on shares of Ardelyx in a research note on Tuesday, November 25th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have given a Buy rating, two have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $12.10.

Ardelyx Price Performance

The company has a market cap of $1.43 billion, a PE ratio of -25.52 and a beta of 0.56. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $5.80 and its 200-day moving average is $5.44. The company has a quick ratio of 4.11, a current ratio of 4.41 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.31.

Ardelyx (NASDAQ:ARDX) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 30th. The biopharmaceutical company reported $0.00 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.06) by $0.06. Ardelyx had a negative return on equity of 36.91% and a negative net margin of 14.20%.The business had revenue of $110.33 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $100.44 million. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 14.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Ardelyx, Inc. will post -0.18 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Ardelyx

In other news, insider Elizabeth A. Grammer sold 5,995 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, November 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $5.54, for a total transaction of $33,212.30. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 299,895 shares in the company, valued at $1,661,418.30. This trade represents a 1.96% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Michael Raab sold 46,887 shares of Ardelyx stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $5.54, for a total value of $259,753.98. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 1,455,363 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,062,711.02. This represents a 3.12% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 64,868 shares of company stock valued at $359,369. Insiders own 4.80% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Millennium Management LLC raised its holdings in Ardelyx by 118.2% in the 1st quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 6,465,262 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $31,744,000 after acquiring an additional 3,501,782 shares during the last quarter. Marshall Wace LLP increased its holdings in shares of Ardelyx by 34.2% in the 2nd quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 11,250,652 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $44,103,000 after purchasing an additional 2,866,843 shares in the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE raised its stake in shares of Ardelyx by 88.8% in the second quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 5,527,988 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $21,670,000 after purchasing an additional 2,600,080 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Ardelyx by 14.6% during the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 18,369,321 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $101,215,000 after purchasing an additional 2,337,672 shares in the last quarter. Finally, AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Ardelyx by 188.5% during the first quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 1,573,063 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $7,724,000 after purchasing an additional 1,027,814 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 58.92% of the company’s stock.

Ardelyx Company Profile

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.