Ardelyx (NASDAQ:ARDX) Shares Climb 4% – Time to Buy?

Ardelyx, Inc. (NASDAQ:ARDX)’s share price traded up 4% on Wednesday. The stock traded as high as $3.25 and last traded at $3.2450. 2,591,013 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 39% from the average session volume of 4,275,936 shares. The stock had previously closed at $3.12.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

ARDX has been the subject of several analyst reports. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH assumed coverage on shares of Ardelyx in a research report on Tuesday, June 16th. They set a “buy” rating and a $16.00 price target for the company. Zacks Research downgraded Ardelyx from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 22nd. BTIG Research lowered their target price on Ardelyx from $17.00 to $14.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, August 7th. Citigroup dropped their target price on Ardelyx from $14.00 to $11.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Monday, August 10th. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a “sell (e+)” rating on shares of Ardelyx in a report on Friday, September 25th. One research 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 data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $13.90.

Ardelyx Stock Up 2.7%

The stock’s fifty day moving average is $3.68 and its 200 day moving average is $5.06. The company has a current ratio of 3.34, a quick ratio of 3.15 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.69. The company has a market capitalization of $798.65 million, a P/E ratio of -14.61 and a beta of 0.68.

Ardelyx (NASDAQ:ARDX) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 6th. The biopharmaceutical company reported ($0.07) earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.05) by ($0.02). The firm had revenue of $120.88 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $121.03 million. Ardelyx had a negative net margin of 12.35% and a negative return on equity of 36.00%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 34.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned ($0.08) EPS. Research analysts predict that Ardelyx, Inc. will post -0.20 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider James Brady sold 15,136 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $3.86, for a total transaction of $58,424.96. Following the transaction, the insider owned 245,930 shares in the company, valued at $949,289.80. The trade was a 5.80% decrease in their position. The sale 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 the company’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 value of $33,049.32. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 409,410 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,580,322.60. The trade was a 2.05% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last quarter, insiders sold 126,059 shares of company stock valued at $486,588. 5.30% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Ardelyx

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. purchased a new stake in Ardelyx in the second quarter worth about $35,000. SCS Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Ardelyx during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $52,000. ADAR1 Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Ardelyx during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $56,000. Krilogy Financial LLC bought a new position in shares of Ardelyx in the 1st quarter worth approximately $70,000. Finally, PVG Asset Management Corp bought a new position in shares of Ardelyx in the 1st quarter worth approximately $65,000. 58.92% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

About Ardelyx

Ardelyx, Inc is a biopharmaceutical company focused on developing and commercializing therapies for gastrointestinal and cardiorenal conditions. The company’s products are designed to act locally in the gastrointestinal tract to address diseases involving phosphate, sodium, and other electrolytes.

Ardelyx’s primary products include XPHOZAH (tenapanor), an oral treatment approved in the United States to reduce intestinal phosphate absorption in adults with chronic kidney disease on dialysis who have hyperphosphatemia, and IBSRELA (tenapanor), an oral therapy approved for the treatment of irritable bowel syndrome with constipation in adults.