Ardelyx (NASDAQ:ARDX) Reaches New 1-Year Low – Time to Sell?

Ardelyx, Inc. (NASDAQ:ARDX)’s share price hit a new 52-week low on Monday. The company traded as low as $3.02 and last traded at $3.0350, with a volume of 2,589,036 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $3.08.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

ARDX has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. HC Wainwright restated a “buy” rating and set a $13.00 target price on shares of Ardelyx in a research report on Friday, August 7th. Citigroup reduced their price target on Ardelyx from $14.00 to $11.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Monday, August 10th. Piper Sandler lowered their price target on Ardelyx from $16.00 to $15.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, August 17th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “sell (e+)” rating on shares of Ardelyx in a research report on Friday, September 25th. Finally, TD Cowen dropped their price objective on Ardelyx from $13.00 to $10.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, August 7th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have given a Buy rating, one has issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $13.90.

Ardelyx Trading Down 2.2%

The company’s 50-day moving average price is $3.52 and its 200-day moving average price is $4.91. The firm has a market cap of $750.56 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -13.66 and a beta of 0.68. The company has a quick ratio of 3.15, a current ratio of 3.34 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.69.

Ardelyx (NASDAQ:ARDX) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 6th. The biopharmaceutical company reported ($0.07) earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.05) by ($0.02). The company 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 quarterly revenue was up 34.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted ($0.08) earnings per share. Equities analysts expect that Ardelyx, Inc. will post -0.20 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Ardelyx

In other news, CEO Michael Raab sold 58,574 shares of Ardelyx stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $3.86, for a total value of $226,095.64. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 1,619,792 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,252,397.12. The trade was a 3.49% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, insider James Brady sold 15,136 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $3.86, for a total value of $58,424.96. Following the sale, the insider owned 245,930 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $949,289.80. The trade was a 5.80% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 126,059 shares of company stock valued at $486,588. 5.30% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in ARDX. Knott David M Jr purchased a new stake in shares of Ardelyx during the first quarter worth $1,240,000. AIGH Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in Ardelyx during the second quarter worth about $16,320,000. Rubric Capital Management LP acquired a new position in Ardelyx during the first quarter worth about $11,147,000. Clay Northam Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Ardelyx during the second quarter worth about $1,704,000. Finally, J. Goldman & Co LP purchased a new stake in Ardelyx during the 2nd quarter valued at about $8,057,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 58.92% of the company’s stock.

About Ardelyx

Ardelyx, Inc is a biopharmaceutical company focused on developing and commercializing therapies for gastrointestinal and cardiorenal diseases. The company’s platform is centered on regulating ion transport in the gut, with the goal of addressing conditions that are inadequately served by existing treatments.

Ardelyx’s marketed products include IBSRELA (tenapanor), an oral treatment for adults with irritable bowel syndrome with constipation, and XPHOZAH (tenapanor), a therapy designed to reduce serum phosphorus in adults with chronic kidney disease on dialysis who have an inadequate response to, or are intolerant of, phosphate binders.