Insider Selling: Ardelyx (NASDAQ:ARDX) Insider Sells 2,306 Shares of Stock

Ardelyx, Inc. (NASDAQ:ARDX) insider John Bishop sold 2,306 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $6.27, for a total transaction of $14,458.62. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 336,845 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,112,018.15. This trade represents a 0.68% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link.

Ardelyx Trading Down 3.8%

NASDAQ:ARDX traded down $0.24 on Friday, reaching $6.11. The stock had a trading volume of 2,314,795 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,388,985. The company has a market cap of $1.51 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -26.56 and a beta of 0.62. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.37, a current ratio of 3.49 and a quick ratio of 3.28. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $6.08 and its two-hundred day moving average is $6.29. Ardelyx, Inc. has a 12-month low of $3.49 and a 12-month high of $8.40.

Ardelyx (NASDAQ:ARDX) last released its earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The biopharmaceutical company reported ($0.15) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.13) by ($0.02). The firm had revenue of $94.47 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $92.78 million. Ardelyx had a negative net margin of 13.58% and a negative return on equity of 38.11%. Ardelyx’s revenue for the quarter was up 27.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company posted ($0.17) earnings per share. Equities analysts expect that Ardelyx, Inc. will post -0.05 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have issued reports on ARDX shares. HC Wainwright upped their target price on shares of Ardelyx from $10.00 to $18.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 20th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Ardelyx in a report on Monday, April 20th. Wedbush reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $19.00 price objective on shares of Ardelyx in a report on Monday, February 23rd. BTIG Research reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $17.00 price objective on shares of Ardelyx in a report on Friday, February 20th. Finally, Leerink Partners reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Ardelyx in a report on Thursday, March 12th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have assigned a Buy rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $15.70.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV lifted its holdings in shares of Ardelyx by 4.7% during the 4th quarter. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV now owns 38,512 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $225,000 after acquiring an additional 1,722 shares during the period. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. increased its position in Ardelyx by 26.7% during the 4th quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 11,807 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $69,000 after purchasing an additional 2,491 shares in the last quarter. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH increased its position in Ardelyx by 0.7% during the 4th quarter. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH now owns 347,609 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $2,027,000 after purchasing an additional 2,532 shares in the last quarter. Cerity Partners LLC increased its position in Ardelyx by 5.3% during the 4th quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 59,359 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $346,000 after purchasing an additional 2,972 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC increased its position in Ardelyx by 24.2% during the 3rd quarter. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC now owns 15,263 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $84,000 after purchasing an additional 2,975 shares in the last quarter. 58.92% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.