John Bishop Sells 2,306 Shares of Ardelyx (NASDAQ:ARDX) Stock

Ardelyx, Inc. (NASDAQ:ARDX) insider John Bishop sold 2,306 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $6.27, for a total transaction of $14,458.62. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 336,845 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,112,018.15. This trade represents a 0.68% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink.

Ardelyx Stock Down 3.8%

ARDX opened at $6.11 on Friday. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $6.08 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $6.29. Ardelyx, Inc. has a 52 week low of $3.49 and a 52 week high of $8.40. The company has a market capitalization of $1.51 billion, a PE ratio of -26.56 and a beta of 0.62. The company has a quick ratio of 3.28, a current ratio of 3.49 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.37.

Ardelyx (NASDAQ:ARDX) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The biopharmaceutical company reported ($0.15) EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.13) by ($0.02). Ardelyx had a negative net margin of 13.58% and a negative return on equity of 38.11%. The business had revenue of $94.47 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $92.78 million. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted ($0.17) EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 27.5% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts forecast that Ardelyx, Inc. will post -0.05 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Trading of Ardelyx

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV raised its position in Ardelyx by 4.7% in the 4th quarter. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV now owns 38,512 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $225,000 after purchasing an additional 1,722 shares during the period. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. raised its position in Ardelyx by 26.7% in the 4th 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 raised its position in Ardelyx by 0.7% in the 4th quarter. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH now owns 347,609 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $2,027,000 after purchasing an additional 2,532 shares during the period. Cerity Partners LLC raised its position in Ardelyx by 5.3% in the 4th quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 59,359 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $346,000 after purchasing an additional 2,972 shares during the period. Finally, Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC raised its position in Ardelyx by 24.2% in the 3rd quarter. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC now owns 15,263 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $84,000 after purchasing an additional 2,975 shares during the period. 58.92% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts recently commented on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $15.00 price target on shares of Ardelyx in a report on Tuesday, January 27th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Ardelyx in a report on Monday, April 20th. Leerink Partners reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of Ardelyx in a report on Thursday, March 12th. TD Cowen reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Ardelyx in a report on Thursday, January 29th. Finally, HC Wainwright increased their price target on shares of Ardelyx from $10.00 to $18.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 20th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have assigned a Buy rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Ardelyx currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $15.70.

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.