Ardelyx (NASDAQ:ARDX) Hits New 12-Month Low – Should You Sell?

Ardelyx, Inc. (NASDAQ:ARDX)’s stock price hit a new 52-week low during trading on Tuesday. The company traded as low as $3.33 and last traded at $3.3450, with a volume of 1263680 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $3.41.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Citigroup decreased their price target on shares of Ardelyx from $14.00 to $11.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, August 10th. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH started coverage on shares of Ardelyx in a research note on Tuesday, June 16th. They set a “buy” rating and a $16.00 price objective for the company. BTIG Research dropped their price target on shares of Ardelyx from $17.00 to $14.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, August 7th. HC Wainwright reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $13.00 price target on shares of Ardelyx in a report on Friday, August 7th. Finally, Piper Sandler dropped their price objective on Ardelyx from $16.00 to $15.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, August 17th. 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 company. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $13.90.

Ardelyx Stock Performance

The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $4.00 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $5.20. The company has a market capitalization of $852.23 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -15.55 and a beta of 0.70. 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 issued 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). The firm had revenue of $120.88 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $121.03 million. Ardelyx had a negative net margin of 12.35% and a negative return on equity of 36.00%. Ardelyx’s revenue was up 34.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted ($0.08) earnings per share. Equities research analysts predict that Ardelyx, Inc. will post -0.2 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider James Brady sold 15,136 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, August 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $3.86, for a total value of $58,424.96. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 245,930 shares in the company, valued at $949,289.80. This represents a 5.80% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, insider Eric Foster sold 8,562 shares of Ardelyx stock in a transaction on Friday, August 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $3.86, for a total transaction of $33,049.32. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 409,410 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,580,322.60. This trade represents a 2.05% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 126,059 shares of company stock valued at $486,588. 5.30% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Ardelyx

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. bought a new stake in shares of Ardelyx during the second quarter worth $35,000. SCS Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Ardelyx in the 2nd quarter valued at about $52,000. ADAR1 Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Ardelyx in the second quarter valued at $56,000. PVG Asset Management Corp bought a new stake in shares of Ardelyx during the first quarter worth approximately $65,000. Finally, Krilogy Financial LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Ardelyx during the first quarter worth $70,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 58.92% of the company’s stock.

About Ardelyx

Ardelyx, Inc is a biopharmaceutical company focused on developing and commercializing therapies for gastrointestinal and cardiorenal conditions. The company’s lead product candidates and marketed medicines are designed to address disorders involving the regulation of phosphate and other substances in the digestive system.

Ardelyx markets XPHOZAH (tenapanor) in the United States for reducing serum phosphorus in adults with chronic kidney disease on dialysis. Tenapanor works locally in the gastrointestinal tract by inhibiting the sodium/hydrogen exchanger 3, thereby reducing intestinal phosphate absorption.