Ardelyx (NASDAQ:ARDX) Stock Price Down 8.1% on Insider Selling

Ardelyx, Inc. (NASDAQ:ARDX)’s stock price was down 8.1% during mid-day trading on Wednesday after an insider sold shares in the company. The stock traded as low as $8.54 and last traded at $8.56. Approximately 3,073,703 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 51% from the average daily volume of 6,265,205 shares. The stock had previously closed at $9.31.

Specifically, insider David P. Rosenbaum sold 15,344 shares of Ardelyx stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $9.18, for a total value of $140,857.92. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 384,002 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,525,138.36. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In other news, insider David P. Rosenbaum sold 15,344 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $9.18, for a total value of $140,857.92. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 384,002 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,525,138.36. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Robert Blanks sold 5,017 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $8.75, for a total value of $43,898.75. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 368,186 shares in the company, valued at $3,221,627.50. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 218,769 shares of company stock valued at $1,734,099. Company insiders own 5.50% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have issued reports on ARDX shares. Piper Sandler raised their price target on shares of Ardelyx from $12.00 to $15.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, February 23rd. SVB Leerink assumed coverage on shares of Ardelyx in a research report on Friday, April 5th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $14.00 price target on the stock. Cantor Fitzgerald reissued an “overweight” rating on shares of Ardelyx in a research note on Friday, January 12th. Wedbush increased their price target on Ardelyx from $14.00 to $15.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, May 3rd. Finally, Leerink Partnrs reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of Ardelyx in a research note on Friday, April 5th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $12.81.

Ardelyx Stock Down 8.4 %

The business has a 50-day moving average of $7.66 and a 200-day moving average of $6.91. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66, a quick ratio of 4.36 and a current ratio of 4.53. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.00 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -31.00 and a beta of 0.87.

Ardelyx (NASDAQ:ARDX) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 2nd. The biopharmaceutical company reported ($0.11) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.13) by $0.02. The business had revenue of $46.00 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $36.40 million. Ardelyx had a negative net margin of 41.36% and a negative return on equity of 41.65%. The business’s revenue was up 303.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned ($0.13) EPS. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Ardelyx, Inc. will post -0.44 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of ARDX. ProShare Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Ardelyx by 8.9% in the first quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 57,729 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $421,000 after purchasing an additional 4,735 shares in the last quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. grew its stake in shares of Ardelyx by 100.7% in the first quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 536,297 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $3,915,000 after acquiring an additional 269,046 shares in the last quarter. Swiss National Bank increased its position in shares of Ardelyx by 6.7% during the first quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 458,300 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $3,346,000 after acquiring an additional 28,900 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Ardelyx by 347.4% in the first quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 122,811 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $897,000 after acquiring an additional 95,361 shares in the last quarter. Finally, China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. boosted its holdings in Ardelyx by 66.7% in the first quarter. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 44,754 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $327,000 after purchasing an additional 17,903 shares during the period. 58.92% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Ardelyx Company Profile

Ardelyx, Inc, a biopharmaceutical company, discovers, develops, and commercializes medicines to treat gastrointestinal and cardiorenal therapeutic areas in the United States and internationally. The company's lead product candidate is tenapanor for the treatment of patients with irritable bowel syndrome with constipation.