Ardelyx (NASDAQ:ARDX) Insider Joseph James Reilly Sells 4,991 Shares

Ardelyx, Inc. (NASDAQ:ARDX) insider Joseph James Reilly sold 4,991 shares of Ardelyx stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $5.85, for a total transaction of $29,197.35. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 151,790 shares in the company, valued at approximately $887,971.50. This trade represents a 3.18% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link.

Ardelyx Stock Up 0.3%

Shares of ARDX traded up $0.02 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $5.75. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 7,054,837 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,578,790. The business has a fifty day moving average of $6.76 and a 200 day moving average of $6.13. The company has a market cap of $1.41 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -23.00 and a beta of 0.57. The company has a quick ratio of 4.11, a current ratio of 4.31 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21. Ardelyx, Inc. has a 1 year low of $3.21 and a 1 year high of $8.40.

Ardelyx (NASDAQ:ARDX) last released its earnings results on Thursday, February 19th. The biopharmaceutical company reported ($0.01) earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.02 by ($0.03). The business had revenue of $125.22 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $118.04 million. Ardelyx had a negative net margin of 15.12% and a negative return on equity of 40.63%. The company’s revenue was up 7.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.02 EPS. As a group, analysts forecast that Ardelyx, Inc. will post -0.18 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Ardelyx

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. DCF Advisers LLC bought a new position in shares of Ardelyx in the 2nd quarter valued at about $39,000. Brighton Jones LLC bought a new position in Ardelyx in the second quarter valued at approximately $40,000. First Horizon Corp increased its position in shares of Ardelyx by 120.4% during the 4th 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 last quarter. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. raised its stake in shares of Ardelyx by 147.0% during the 3rd 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 in the last quarter. Finally, Swiss Life Asset Management Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of Ardelyx in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $57,000. 58.92% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have commented on the stock. BTIG Research reissued a “buy” rating and set a $17.00 target price on shares of Ardelyx in a research report on Friday. Piper Sandler upgraded Ardelyx from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and upped their target price for the company from $10.00 to $16.00 in a research note on Thursday, January 8th. Raymond James Financial reiterated a “strong-buy” rating and issued a $19.00 price target on shares of Ardelyx in a research report on Thursday, January 8th. Citigroup lifted their price target on Ardelyx from $11.00 to $14.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 9th. Finally, TD Cowen restated a “buy” rating on shares of Ardelyx in a research report on Thursday, January 29th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have given a Buy rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $15.09.

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.