Ardelyx (NASDAQ:ARDX) Shares Down 8.1% on Insider Selling

Ardelyx, Inc. (NASDAQ:ARDX) fell 8.1% on Wednesday after an insider sold shares in the company. The stock traded as low as $8.54 and last traded at $8.56. 3,073,703 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 51% from the average session volume of 6,265,205 shares. The stock had previously closed at $9.31.

Specifically, insider David P. Rosenbaum sold 5,183 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $9.20, for a total transaction of $47,683.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 175,936 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,618,611.20. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In other Ardelyx news, insider David P. Rosenbaum sold 5,183 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $9.20, for a total value of $47,683.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 175,936 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,618,611.20. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Michael Raab sold 22,917 shares of Ardelyx stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $8.75, for a total transaction of $200,523.75. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,319,951 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,549,571.25. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 203,425 shares of company stock valued at $1,593,241 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 5.50% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have commented on the company. Piper Sandler lifted their target price on Ardelyx from $12.00 to $15.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, February 23rd. Wedbush boosted their price objective on shares of Ardelyx from $14.00 to $15.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, May 3rd. StockNews.com lowered shares of Ardelyx from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Monday, February 26th. Leerink Partnrs reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Ardelyx in a report on Friday, April 5th. Finally, Citigroup lifted their price objective on shares of Ardelyx from $13.00 to $14.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, May 3rd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $12.81.

Ardelyx Stock Performance

The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $7.64 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $6.92. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66, a current ratio of 4.53 and a quick ratio of 4.36. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.98 billion, a PE ratio of -30.29 and a beta of 0.87.

Ardelyx (NASDAQ:ARDX) last released its earnings results on Thursday, May 2nd. The biopharmaceutical company reported ($0.11) earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.13) by $0.02. The business had revenue of $46.00 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $36.40 million. Ardelyx had a negative return on equity of 41.65% and a negative net margin of 41.36%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 303.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned ($0.13) earnings per share. Research analysts expect that Ardelyx, Inc. will post -0.44 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Ardelyx

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. HighMark Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Ardelyx during the first quarter valued at approximately $36,000. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. purchased a new position in Ardelyx during the 4th quarter worth $62,000. Sherbrooke Park Advisers LLC purchased a new position in Ardelyx during the 3rd quarter worth $63,000. Jump Financial LLC bought a new stake in Ardelyx during the 4th quarter valued at $63,000. Finally, Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Ardelyx in the 1st quarter worth $64,000. 58.92% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Ardelyx Company Profile

Ardelyx, Inc, a biopharmaceutical company, discovers, develops, and commercializes medicines to treat gastrointestinal and cardiorenal therapeutic areas in the United States and internationally. The company's lead product candidate is tenapanor for the treatment of patients with irritable bowel syndrome with constipation.