Ardelyx (NASDAQ:ARDX) Insider John Bishop Sells 3,179 Shares

Ardelyx, Inc. (NASDAQ:ARDX) insider John Bishop sold 3,179 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $5.85, for a total value of $18,597.15. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 339,151 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,984,033.35. This trade represents a 0.93% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link.

Ardelyx Price Performance

NASDAQ ARDX traded up $0.02 during mid-day trading on Monday, hitting $5.75. The stock had a trading volume of 7,054,837 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,578,790. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.41 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -23.00 and a beta of 0.57. Ardelyx, Inc. has a twelve month low of $3.21 and a twelve month high of $8.40. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $6.76 and its 200 day moving average is $6.13. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21, a current ratio of 4.31 and a quick ratio of 4.11.

Ardelyx (NASDAQ:ARDX) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, February 19th. The biopharmaceutical company reported ($0.01) earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.02 by ($0.03). The business had revenue of $125.22 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $118.04 million. Ardelyx had a negative return on equity of 40.63% and a negative net margin of 15.12%.Ardelyx’s quarterly revenue was up 7.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.02 earnings per share. Equities research analysts forecast that Ardelyx, Inc. will post -0.18 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on ARDX shares. BTIG Research restated a “buy” rating and set a $17.00 price target on shares of Ardelyx in a research note on Friday. Weiss Ratings restated a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Ardelyx in a report on Wednesday, January 21st. Citigroup lifted their price objective on Ardelyx from $11.00 to $14.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 9th. HC Wainwright increased their target price on Ardelyx from $10.00 to $18.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group reissued a “buy” rating and set a $15.00 price target on shares of Ardelyx in a research report on Tuesday, January 27th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have given a Buy rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $15.09.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Ardelyx

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Invesco Ltd. boosted its position in Ardelyx by 23.1% during the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 317,410 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $1,851,000 after purchasing an additional 59,597 shares during the period. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV lifted its stake in shares of Ardelyx by 4.7% during 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. Mackenzie Financial Corp boosted its position in shares of Ardelyx by 12.8% in the fourth quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 199,550 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $1,155,000 after buying an additional 22,715 shares during the period. NewEdge Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Ardelyx by 1,690.9% in the fourth quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 17,909 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $104,000 after buying an additional 16,909 shares in the last quarter. Finally, XTX Topco Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of Ardelyx during the 4th quarter valued at about $698,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.