Ardelyx (NASDAQ:ARDX) Insider Eric Duane Foster Sells 7,998 Shares of Stock

Ardelyx, Inc. (NASDAQ:ARDX) insider Eric Duane Foster sold 7,998 shares of Ardelyx stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $6.27, for a total transaction of $50,147.46. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 417,972 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,620,684.44. This trade represents a 1.88% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website.

Ardelyx Stock Down 3.8%

Shares of NASDAQ ARDX opened at $6.11 on Friday. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $6.08 and its 200-day simple moving average is $6.29. Ardelyx, Inc. has a 52-week low of $3.49 and a 52-week high of $8.40. The firm 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 quick ratio of 3.28, a current ratio of 3.49 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.37.

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

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Ardelyx

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. First Horizon Corp raised its stake in Ardelyx by 120.4% during the fourth quarter. First Horizon Corp now owns 7,906 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $46,000 after purchasing an additional 4,319 shares during the period. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. raised its stake in Ardelyx by 147.0% during the third quarter. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. now owns 10,253 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $56,000 after purchasing an additional 6,102 shares during the period. Swiss Life Asset Management Ltd purchased a new position in Ardelyx during the third quarter worth about $57,000. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. purchased a new position in Ardelyx during the fourth quarter worth about $60,000. Finally, State of Wyoming purchased a new position in Ardelyx during the second quarter worth about $61,000. 58.92% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. TD Cowen reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Ardelyx in a research note on Thursday, January 29th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Ardelyx in a research note on Monday, April 20th. BTIG Research reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $17.00 price target on shares of Ardelyx in a research note on Friday, February 20th. Wedbush reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $19.00 price target on shares of Ardelyx in a research note on Monday, February 23rd. Finally, Leerink Partners reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Ardelyx in a research note on Thursday, March 12th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have issued a Buy rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $15.70.

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.