Ardelyx (NASDAQ:ARDX) Insider Mike Kelliher Sells 7,248 Shares

Ardelyx, Inc. (NASDAQ:ARDX) insider Mike Kelliher sold 7,248 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 $45,444.96. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 357,418 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,241,010.86. This represents a 1.99% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website.

Ardelyx Stock Performance

Shares of ARDX traded down $0.24 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $6.11. 2,314,795 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 4,388,985. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $6.08 and its 200 day moving average is $6.29. The stock has a market cap of $1.51 billion, a P/E ratio of -26.56 and a beta of 0.62. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.37, a quick ratio of 3.28 and a current ratio of 3.49. Ardelyx, Inc. has a 1-year low of $3.49 and a 1-year high of $8.40.

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have recently commented on the stock. HC Wainwright upped their price objective on shares of Ardelyx from $10.00 to $18.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 20th. TD Cowen reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Ardelyx in a research report on Thursday, January 29th. Wedbush reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $19.00 price target on shares of Ardelyx in a research report on Monday, February 23rd. BTIG Research reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $17.00 price target on shares of Ardelyx in a research report on Friday, February 20th. Finally, Williams Trading set a $17.00 price target on shares of Ardelyx in a research report on Thursday, March 12th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have given a Buy rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Ardelyx has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $15.70.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in ARDX. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Ardelyx by 14.6% during the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 18,369,321 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $101,215,000 after buying an additional 2,337,672 shares in the last quarter. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd increased its holdings in shares of Ardelyx by 488.0% during the third quarter. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd now owns 306,547 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $1,689,000 after buying an additional 254,417 shares in the last quarter. AIGH Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Ardelyx by 479.3% during the fourth quarter. AIGH Capital Management LLC now owns 1,150,000 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $6,704,000 after buying an additional 951,500 shares in the last quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC increased its holdings in shares of Ardelyx by 514.6% during the third quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 131,925 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $727,000 after buying an additional 110,459 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Tudor Investment Corp ET AL acquired a new stake in shares of Ardelyx during the third quarter worth approximately $688,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 58.92% of the company’s stock.

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.