Insider Selling: Ardelyx, Inc. (NASDAQ:ARDX) CEO Sells 35,000 Shares of Stock

Ardelyx, Inc. (NASDAQ:ARDX) CEO Michael Raab sold 35,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, September 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $5.61, for a total value of $196,350.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 1,220,608 shares in the company, valued at $6,847,610.88. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website.

Michael Raab also recently made the following trade(s):

• On Tuesday, August 27th, Michael Raab sold 7,500 shares of Ardelyx stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $6.22, for a total value of $46,650.00.
• On Tuesday, August 20th, Michael Raab sold 32,225 shares of Ardelyx stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $5.86, for a total value of $188,838.50.
• On Monday, August 12th, Michael Raab sold 1,229 shares of Ardelyx stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $5.71, for a total value of $7,017.59.
• On Monday, July 29th, Michael Raab sold 30,000 shares of Ardelyx stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $5.64, for a total value of $169,200.00.
• On Monday, July 15th, Michael Raab sold 7,500 shares of Ardelyx stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $5.97, for a total value of $44,775.00.
• On Friday, June 28th, Michael Raab sold 2,310 shares of Ardelyx stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $6.59, for a total value of $15,222.90.

Ardelyx Stock Performance

Shares of ARDX stock opened at $6.31 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $1.49 billion, a PE ratio of -22.54 and a beta of 0.90. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $5.84 and a 200-day simple moving average of $6.77. The company has a quick ratio of 3.99, a current ratio of 4.21 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68. Ardelyx, Inc. has a 52-week low of $3.16 and a 52-week high of $10.13.

Ardelyx (NASDAQ:ARDX) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The biopharmaceutical company reported ($0.07) earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.11) by $0.04. The company had revenue of $73.20 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations 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 quarter in the prior year, the firm posted ($0.08) EPS. On average, equities analysts expect that Ardelyx, Inc. will post -0.26 EPS for the current year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Ardelyx

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Ardelyx by 1,026.3% during the second quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 3,548 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 3,233 shares during the last quarter. HighMark Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Ardelyx in the first quarter valued at approximately $36,000. Redwood Wealth Management Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Ardelyx in the second quarter valued at approximately $62,000. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Ardelyx in the first quarter valued at approximately $64,000. Finally, Coastal Bridge Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Ardelyx in the second quarter valued at approximately $74,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 58.92% of the company’s stock.

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.