John Bishop Sells 19,750 Shares of Ardelyx (NASDAQ:ARDX) Stock

Ardelyx, Inc. (NASDAQ:ARDX) insider John Bishop sold 19,750 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $3.86, for a total value of $76,235.00. Following the transaction, the insider owned 317,095 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,223,986.70. This trade represents a 5.86% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website.

Ardelyx Stock Up 1.3%

Shares of NASDAQ:ARDX opened at $3.83 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.69, a current ratio of 3.34 and a quick ratio of 3.15. The firm has a market capitalization of $954.40 million, a PE ratio of -17.41 and a beta of 0.70. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $4.93 and its two-hundred day moving average is $5.72. Ardelyx, Inc. has a 1 year low of $3.72 and a 1 year high of $8.40.

Ardelyx (NASDAQ:ARDX) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 6th. The biopharmaceutical company reported ($0.07) EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.05) by ($0.02). The business had revenue of $120.88 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $121.03 million. Ardelyx had a negative net margin of 12.35% and a negative return on equity of 36.00%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 34.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted ($0.08) EPS. Analysts predict that Ardelyx, Inc. will post -0.2 EPS for the current year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms recently issued reports on ARDX. TD Cowen decreased their target price on Ardelyx from $13.00 to $10.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, August 7th. Weiss Ratings downgraded Ardelyx from a “sell (d-)” rating to a “sell (e+)” rating in a report on Monday, June 29th. BTIG Research reduced their price target on Ardelyx from $17.00 to $14.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, August 7th. Wedbush reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $9.00 price objective on shares of Ardelyx in a research note on Tuesday, August 18th. Finally, Piper Sandler lowered their price objective on Ardelyx from $16.00 to $15.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, August 17th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have given a Buy rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $13.90.

Institutional Trading of Ardelyx

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. BlackRock Inc. purchased a new position in Ardelyx during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $119,874,000. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in Ardelyx by 3.3% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 18,979,483 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $110,650,000 after buying an additional 610,162 shares during the period. Janus Henderson Group PLC lifted its stake in Ardelyx by 5.0% in the fourth quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 14,514,692 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $84,583,000 after buying an additional 690,599 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp lifted its stake in Ardelyx by 22.6% in the fourth quarter. State Street Corp now owns 11,912,339 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $69,449,000 after buying an additional 2,193,649 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Ardelyx by 1.2% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 5,827,618 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $33,981,000 after acquiring an additional 70,832 shares during the period. 58.92% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Key Ardelyx News

Here are the key news stories impacting Ardelyx this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Institutional interest provides a supportive signal. BlackRock, Jupiter Topco and AIGH Capital Management reportedly initiated positions, while Bank of America and State Street increased their holdings. Institutions and hedge funds own approximately 58.9% of Ardelyx.
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst sentiment remains broadly favorable, with a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $13.90. Piper Sandler, HC Wainwright, Citigroup and TD Cowen continue to maintain positive ratings, although several have reduced their targets.
• Neutral Sentiment: Reported short-interest data showed zero shares short and a zero-day days-to-cover ratio, but the report also described the figure as a “large increase.” The internally inconsistent data makes this an unreliable trading signal.
• Negative Sentiment: Eight Ardelyx insiders sold a combined 126,059 shares for approximately $486,588 at an average price of $3.86 on August 21. The transactions included CEO Michael Raab, CFO Susan Hohenleitner and other company insiders; each seller retained a substantial position, but the broad-based selling may weigh on sentiment. Ardelyx insider selling report
• Negative Sentiment: Investors purchased 11,731 put options on Ardelyx, about 328% above the average daily volume of 2,743 contracts. The activity suggests increased hedging or bearish speculation, though it does not necessarily indicate a change in the company’s fundamentals. Ardelyx put options report

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.