Ardelyx (NASDAQ:ARDX) CEO Michael Raab Sells 58,574 Shares

Ardelyx, Inc. (NASDAQ:ARDX) CEO Michael Raab sold 58,574 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 $226,095.64. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 1,619,792 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,252,397.12. The trade was a 3.49% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website.

Ardelyx Trading Up 1.1%

Shares of Ardelyx stock opened at $3.78 on Wednesday. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $4.97 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $5.75. 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, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $3.72 and a fifty-two week high of $8.40. The company has a market cap of $941.94 million, a P/E ratio of -17.18 and a beta of 0.70.

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on ARDX shares. Wedbush reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $9.00 target price on shares of Ardelyx in a research report on Tuesday, August 18th. BTIG Research decreased their price objective on shares of Ardelyx from $17.00 to $14.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, August 7th. Piper Sandler dropped their target price on shares of Ardelyx from $16.00 to $15.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, August 17th. TD Cowen cut their target price on shares of Ardelyx from $13.00 to $10.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, August 7th. Finally, Zacks Research downgraded shares of Ardelyx from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 22nd. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have given a Buy rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $13.90.

Key Headlines Impacting Ardelyx

Here are the key news stories impacting Ardelyx this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Despite the negative signals below, the stock has increased modestly, suggesting buyers have so far absorbed the recent selling pressure.
• Neutral Sentiment: Reported short-interest data showed zero shares short and a zero-day days-to-cover ratio, while also describing the change as a “large increase.” Because the figures are internally inconsistent, they provide no reliable signal for ARDX.
• Negative Sentiment: Eight Ardelyx insiders sold a combined 126,059 shares for approximately $486,588 at an average price of $3.86 on August 21. The sales included CEO Michael Raab, who sold 58,574 shares, and CFO Susan Hohenleitner, who sold 1,558 shares. The transactions reduced each insider’s holdings, though all retained substantial positions. CEO insider sale filing
• Negative Sentiment: Options traders purchased 11,731 put contracts on Tuesday, roughly 328% above the average volume of 2,743 contracts. The surge indicates increased hedging or bearish speculation around Ardelyx, although options activity alone does not confirm a fundamental deterioration.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. grew its holdings in shares of Ardelyx by 2.9% during the first quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 159,061 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $781,000 after buying an additional 4,436 shares in the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. boosted its position in Ardelyx by 10.3% during the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 2,378,738 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $11,680,000 after acquiring an additional 221,486 shares during the last quarter. Focus Partners Wealth acquired a new position in Ardelyx during the first quarter worth about $72,000. Strs Ohio purchased a new stake in Ardelyx during the 1st quarter valued at about $135,000. Finally, Legal & General Group Plc raised its holdings in 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 acquiring an additional 32,738 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 58.92% of the company’s stock.

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.