Ardelyx (NASDAQ:ARDX) Trading Down 10.4% on Disappointing Earnings

Ardelyx, Inc. (NASDAQ:ARDX) shares dropped 10.4% on Friday following a weaker than expected earnings announcement. The stock traded as low as $5.90 and last traded at $6.0380. Approximately 1,633,732 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 69% from the average daily volume of 5,216,605 shares. The stock had previously closed at $6.74.

The biopharmaceutical company reported ($0.01) EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.02 by ($0.03). Ardelyx had a negative net margin of 14.20% and a negative return on equity of 36.91%. The business had revenue of $125.22 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $118.04 million. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.02 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.8% on a year-over-year basis.

Key Stories Impacting Ardelyx

Here are the key news stories impacting Ardelyx this week:

• Positive Sentiment: BTIG reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $17 price target (~152% above the recent open), which supports upside expectations from the sell-side and can attract buyers. Benzinga
• Positive Sentiment: Ardelyx reported strong commercial revenue trends: IBSRELA revenue grew 73% in 2025 and total 2025 revenues reached $407.3M; management said the company is well-capitalized and advancing development programs, which supports medium-term growth expectations. GlobeNewswire
• Neutral Sentiment: Investors can review the full Q4 2025 earnings call transcript for management detail on commercial execution, guidance and pipeline plans. This is informational for positioning but not an immediate catalyst by itself. Earnings Call Transcript
• Neutral Sentiment: Zacks published analysis comparing key metrics and noted revenue beat but mixed EPS results — useful context for analysts and traders assessing whether the quarter changes consensus expectations. Zacks: Key Metrics
• Negative Sentiment: Ardelyx missed consensus EPS (reported -$0.01 vs. $0.02 expected) and reported negative margins/ROE, which pressured near-term profitability narratives and may weigh on valuation multiple near-term. MarketBeat Earnings
• Negative Sentiment: Zacks also highlighted the quarter as essentially break-even on EPS versus expectations, underscoring the mixed earnings reception that can drive short-term selling pressure. Zacks: Break-Even EPS
• Neutral Sentiment: Short-interest reports in the feeds show anomalous “0 shares / NaN” data for February and are unreliable; do not treat them as a meaningful short-squeeze signal without confirmation from the exchange. (Data in the newsfeed).

Analysts Set New Price Targets

ARDX has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $15.00 target price on shares of Ardelyx in a research report on Tuesday, January 27th. HC Wainwright raised 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. Wedbush raised their price objective on shares of Ardelyx from $16.00 to $19.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 21st. Piper Sandler upgraded Ardelyx from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $10.00 to $16.00 in a research report on Thursday, January 8th. Finally, TD Cowen restated a “buy” rating on shares of Ardelyx in a research report on Thursday, January 29th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have assigned a Buy rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $15.09.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Ardelyx news, insider Laura A. Williams sold 50,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $6.98, for a total transaction of $349,000.00. Following the transaction, the insider owned 361,563 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,523,709.74. This trade represents a 12.15% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 4.80% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of ARDX. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV raised its position in shares of Ardelyx by 4.7% in the fourth quarter. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV now owns 38,512 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $225,000 after purchasing an additional 1,722 shares during the period. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. increased its position in Ardelyx by 26.7% in the fourth quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 11,807 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $69,000 after purchasing an additional 2,491 shares during the period. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH boosted its holdings in Ardelyx by 0.7% during the fourth quarter. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH now owns 347,609 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $2,027,000 after buying an additional 2,532 shares during the last quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC increased its holdings in shares of Ardelyx by 12.0% in the third quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC now owns 23,680 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $130,000 after acquiring an additional 2,537 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Brighton Jones LLC boosted its stake in Ardelyx by 25.1% in the 3rd quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 12,701 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $70,000 after purchasing an additional 2,550 shares during the period. 58.92% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Ardelyx Price Performance

The firm has a market cap of $1.44 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -26.12 and a beta of 0.57. The company’s fifty day moving average is $6.78 and its 200 day moving average is $6.10. The company has a quick ratio of 4.11, a current ratio of 4.41 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.31.

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.