Ardelyx (NASDAQ:ARDX) CEO Sells $268,994.70 in Stock

Ardelyx, Inc. (NASDAQ:ARDX) CEO Michael Raab sold 45,982 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $5.85, for a total transaction of $268,994.70. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 1,856,986 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,863,368.10. The trade was a 2.42% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale 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 stock traded up $0.02 during mid-day trading on Monday, hitting $5.75. 7,054,837 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,578,790. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $6.76 and its two-hundred day moving average is $6.13. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21, a current ratio of 4.31 and a quick ratio of 4.11. Ardelyx, Inc. has a 52-week low of $3.21 and a 52-week high of $8.40. The stock has a market cap of $1.41 billion, a P/E ratio of -23.00 and a beta of 0.57.

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have commented on ARDX shares. Raymond James Financial reaffirmed a “strong-buy” rating and issued a $19.00 price target on shares of Ardelyx in a report on Thursday, January 8th. Wedbush restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $19.00 target price on shares of Ardelyx in a research note on Monday. BTIG Research reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $17.00 price target on shares of Ardelyx in a research report on Friday. Jefferies Financial Group restated a “buy” rating and issued a $15.00 price objective on shares of Ardelyx in a research report on Tuesday, January 27th. Finally, HC Wainwright lifted their target price on shares of Ardelyx from $10.00 to $18.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have issued a Buy rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $15.09.

Institutional Trading of Ardelyx

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in ARDX. Marshall Wace LLP grew its stake in shares of Ardelyx by 34.2% in the second quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 11,250,652 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $44,103,000 after buying an additional 2,866,843 shares in the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE grew its position in shares of Ardelyx by 88.8% during the second quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 5,527,988 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $21,670,000 after buying an additional 2,600,080 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Ardelyx by 14.6% in the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 18,369,321 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $101,215,000 after purchasing an additional 2,337,672 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp raised its holdings in shares of Ardelyx by 22.6% in the 4th quarter. State Street Corp now owns 11,912,339 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $69,449,000 after purchasing an additional 2,193,649 shares in the last quarter. Finally, J. Goldman & Co LP lifted its holdings in Ardelyx by 1,034.8% during the 4th quarter. J. Goldman & Co LP now owns 1,622,736 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $9,461,000 after buying an additional 1,479,736 shares during the last quarter. 58.92% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.