John Bishop Sells 19,750 Shares of Ardelyx (NASDAQ:ARDX) Stock

Ardelyx, Inc. (NASDAQ:ARDX) insider John Bishop sold 19,750 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $3.86, for a total transaction of $76,235.00. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 317,095 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,223,986.70. This represents a 5.86% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link.

Ardelyx Trading Up 1.1%

Shares of ARDX traded up $0.04 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $3.78. The company had a trading volume of 3,418,138 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,069,888. The company has a current ratio of 3.34, a quick ratio of 3.15 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.69. The stock has a market cap of $941.94 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -17.18 and a beta of 0.70. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $4.97 and a 200-day simple moving average of $5.75. Ardelyx, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $3.72 and a fifty-two week high of $8.40.

Ardelyx (NASDAQ:ARDX) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 6th. The biopharmaceutical company reported ($0.07) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.05) by ($0.02). Ardelyx had a negative net margin of 12.35% and a negative return on equity of 36.00%. The firm had revenue of $120.88 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $121.03 million. During the same period last year, the firm posted ($0.08) EPS. Ardelyx’s revenue was up 34.3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Ardelyx, Inc. will post -0.2 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have issued reports on ARDX shares. Wedbush reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $9.00 price objective on shares of Ardelyx in a research report on Tuesday, August 18th. Zacks Research lowered Ardelyx from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 22nd. Citigroup decreased their target price on Ardelyx from $14.00 to $11.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, August 10th. TD Cowen lowered their price target on shares of 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 cut their target price on Ardelyx from $17.00 to $14.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, August 7th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have given a Buy rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $13.90.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Ardelyx

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV boosted its holdings in Ardelyx by 4.7% in the fourth 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 in the last quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. raised its position in shares of Ardelyx by 26.7% during the fourth quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 11,807 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $69,000 after buying an additional 2,491 shares during the last quarter. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH grew its position 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 in the last quarter. Cerity Partners LLC grew its holdings in shares of Ardelyx by 5.3% during 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 in the last quarter. Finally, Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC increased its holdings in Ardelyx by 24.2% in the 3rd quarter. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC now owns 15,263 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $84,000 after buying an additional 2,975 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 58.92% of the company’s stock.

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.