Ardelyx (NASDAQ:ARDX) Trading Down 3.2% After Insider Selling

Ardelyx, Inc. (NASDAQ:ARDX)’s stock price was down 3.2% during mid-day trading on Wednesday after an insider sold shares in the company. The company traded as low as $5.78 and last traded at $5.78. Approximately 1,732,343 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 65% from the average daily volume of 4,944,993 shares. The stock had previously closed at $5.97.

Specifically, CEO Michael Raab sold 7,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, October 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $6.01, for a total value of $45,075.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,210,108 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,272,749.08. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts recently issued reports on ARDX shares. Wedbush reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $11.00 target price on shares of Ardelyx in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. Citigroup lifted their price objective on Ardelyx from $10.00 to $12.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. StockNews.com raised Ardelyx from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st. HC Wainwright lifted their price objective on Ardelyx from $10.00 to $11.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, August 5th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an “overweight” rating on shares of Ardelyx in a research report on Thursday, June 20th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $11.67.

Ardelyx Stock Performance

The company has a market capitalization of $1.36 billion, a PE ratio of -20.82 and a beta of 0.90. The business’s fifty day moving average is $6.09 and its two-hundred day moving average is $6.43. The company has a current ratio of 4.21, a quick ratio of 3.99 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68.

Ardelyx (NASDAQ:ARDX) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 1st. The biopharmaceutical company reported ($0.07) earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.11) by $0.04. The company had revenue of $73.20 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $55.03 million. Ardelyx had a negative net margin of 31.02% and a negative return on equity of 39.73%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 228.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned ($0.08) EPS. Equities research analysts predict that Ardelyx, Inc. will post -0.25 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Ardelyx

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC raised its stake in Ardelyx by 1,026.3% during the 2nd quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 3,548 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 3,233 shares during the last quarter. Redwood Wealth Management Group LLC purchased a new stake in Ardelyx during the 2nd quarter valued at $62,000. Coastal Bridge Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Ardelyx during the 2nd quarter valued at $74,000. Helen Stephens Group LLC purchased a new stake in Ardelyx during the 3rd quarter valued at $76,000. Finally, Paloma Partners Management Co purchased a new stake in Ardelyx during the 1st quarter valued at $86,000. 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.