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

Ardelyx, Inc. (NASDAQ:ARDX) shares dropped 3.2% during 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 mid-day 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 on Friday, October 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $6.01, for a total value of $45,075.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now 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 sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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

Ardelyx Price Performance

The company has a market capitalization of $1.35 billion, a P/E ratio of -21.04 and a beta of 0.90. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68, a current ratio of 4.21 and a quick ratio of 3.99. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $6.08 and its 200-day moving average is $6.44.

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

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Ardelyx

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of ARDX. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC grew its position in Ardelyx by 1,026.3% in the second quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 3,548 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 3,233 shares in the last quarter. Redwood Wealth Management Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of Ardelyx during the second quarter valued at about $62,000. Coastal Bridge Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Ardelyx in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $74,000. Helen Stephens Group LLC acquired a new stake in Ardelyx in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $76,000. Finally, Paloma Partners Management Co purchased a new stake in Ardelyx during the 1st quarter worth approximately $86,000. 58.92% of the stock is owned by 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.