Ardelyx (NASDAQ:ARDX) Shares Cross Below 200-Day Moving Average – Here’s What Happened

Ardelyx, Inc. (NASDAQ:ARDX)’s stock price passed below its two hundred day moving average during trading on Tuesday . The stock has a two hundred day moving average of $6.16 and traded as low as $6.08. Ardelyx shares last traded at $6.22, with a volume of 2,721,446 shares traded.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

ARDX has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Citigroup raised their price objective on Ardelyx from $11.00 to $14.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 9th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Ardelyx in a report on Wednesday, January 21st. HC Wainwright lifted their price target on Ardelyx from $10.00 to $18.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 20th. Piper Sandler raised shares of Ardelyx from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their price objective for the company from $10.00 to $16.00 in a research note on Thursday, January 8th. Finally, Wedbush restated an “outperform” rating and set a $19.00 target price on shares of Ardelyx in a report on Monday, February 23rd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have issued a Buy rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $15.09.

Ardelyx Price Performance

The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $6.86 and its 200 day simple moving average is $6.17. The company has a current ratio of 4.31, a quick ratio of 4.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.54 billion, a PE ratio of -25.08 and a beta of 0.61.

Ardelyx (NASDAQ:ARDX) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 19th. The biopharmaceutical company reported ($0.01) earnings per share (EPS) 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 analyst estimates of $118.04 million. Ardelyx had a negative return on equity of 40.63% and a negative net margin of 15.12%.Ardelyx’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.02 EPS. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Ardelyx, Inc. will post -0.18 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Joseph James Reilly sold 4,991 shares of the company’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 transaction of $29,197.35. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 151,790 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $887,971.50. This represents a 3.18% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Michael Raab sold 45,982 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $5.85, for a total transaction of $268,994.70. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 1,856,986 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,863,368.10. This represents a 2.42% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold 136,938 shares of company stock worth $857,587 over the last ninety days. Insiders own 4.80% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Ardelyx

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. DCF Advisers LLC acquired a new position in Ardelyx in the second quarter valued at $39,000. First Horizon Corp raised its holdings in shares of Ardelyx by 120.4% in the 4th quarter. First Horizon Corp now owns 7,906 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $46,000 after purchasing an additional 4,319 shares during the period. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. raised its holdings in shares of Ardelyx by 147.0% in the 3rd quarter. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. now owns 10,253 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $56,000 after purchasing an additional 6,102 shares during the period. Swiss Life Asset Management Ltd acquired a new position in shares of Ardelyx in the 3rd quarter valued at about $57,000. Finally, Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Ardelyx during the 4th quarter worth about $60,000. 58.92% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.