Ardelyx (NASDAQ:ARDX) Insider Laura Williams Sells 10,739 Shares of Stock

Ardelyx, Inc. (NASDAQ:ARDX) insider Laura Williams sold 10,739 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $3.86, for a total transaction of $41,452.54. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 367,456 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,418,380.16. The trade was a 2.84% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website.

Ardelyx Trading Up 1.1%

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

Ardelyx (NASDAQ:ARDX) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 6th. The biopharmaceutical company reported ($0.07) earnings per share 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 company had revenue of $120.88 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $121.03 million. During the same period last year, the company earned ($0.08) EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 34.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Ardelyx, Inc. will post -0.2 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in ARDX. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. increased its holdings in shares of Ardelyx by 2.9% in the first quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 159,061 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $781,000 after acquiring an additional 4,436 shares in the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Ardelyx by 10.3% during the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 2,378,738 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $11,680,000 after purchasing an additional 221,486 shares in the last quarter. Focus Partners Wealth bought a new position in shares of Ardelyx during the 1st quarter valued at about $72,000. Strs Ohio acquired a new position in shares of Ardelyx in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $135,000. Finally, Legal & General Group Plc grew its position in shares of Ardelyx by 13.5% in the 2nd quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 275,344 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $1,080,000 after purchasing an additional 32,738 shares during the period. 58.92% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have weighed in on ARDX. Wedbush reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $9.00 target price on shares of Ardelyx in a research note on Tuesday, August 18th. HC Wainwright restated a “buy” rating and set a $13.00 target price on shares of Ardelyx in a research report on Friday, August 7th. TD Cowen lowered their price target on Ardelyx from $13.00 to $10.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, August 7th. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH started coverage on shares of Ardelyx in a research report on Tuesday, June 16th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $16.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Citigroup cut their price target on shares of Ardelyx from $14.00 to $11.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, August 10th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have issued a Buy rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Ardelyx currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $13.90.

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.