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

Ardelyx, Inc. (NASDAQ:ARDX) reached a new 52-week low during mid-day trading on Thursday . The stock traded as low as $3.89 and last traded at $3.97, with a volume of 4952568 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $3.94.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

ARDX has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Zacks Research cut shares of Ardelyx from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 22nd. Weiss Ratings cut Ardelyx from a “sell (d-)” rating to a “sell (e+)” rating in a report on Monday, June 29th. HC Wainwright restated a “buy” rating and issued a $13.00 price objective on shares of Ardelyx in a research note on Friday, August 7th. TD Cowen cut their price objective on Ardelyx from $13.00 to $10.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, August 7th. Finally, BTIG Research reduced their target price on Ardelyx from $17.00 to $14.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, August 7th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have given a Buy rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $15.00.

Ardelyx Price Performance

The company has a quick ratio of 3.28, a current ratio of 3.34 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.69. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.01 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -18.45 and a beta of 0.70. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $5.22 and its 200-day simple moving average is $5.95.

Ardelyx (NASDAQ:ARDX) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, August 6th. The biopharmaceutical company reported ($0.07) EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.05) by ($0.02). Ardelyx had a negative return on equity of 36.00% and a negative net margin of 12.35%.The business had revenue of $120.88 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $121.03 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted ($0.08) EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 34.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts forecast that Ardelyx, Inc. will post -0.18 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity at Ardelyx

In other news, insider Eric Duane Foster sold 7,998 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 $50,147.46. Following the transaction, the insider owned 417,972 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,620,684.44. This represents a 1.88% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Mike Kelliher sold 7,248 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $6.27, for a total value of $45,444.96. Following the sale, the insider owned 357,418 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,241,010.86. This represents a 1.99% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold 24,572 shares of company stock worth $154,066 over the last quarter. 5.30% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Ardelyx

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. lifted its holdings in shares of Ardelyx by 2.9% in the first quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 159,061 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $781,000 after buying an additional 4,436 shares in the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. raised its holdings in Ardelyx by 10.3% in the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 2,378,738 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $11,680,000 after purchasing an additional 221,486 shares in the last quarter. Focus Partners Wealth bought a new position in Ardelyx in the first quarter worth $72,000. Strs Ohio bought a new position in shares of Ardelyx during the first quarter valued at approximately $135,000. Finally, Legal & General Group Plc raised its position in shares of Ardelyx by 13.5% in the 2nd quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 275,344 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $1,080,000 after purchasing an additional 32,738 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 58.92% of the company’s stock.

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.