Ardelyx (NASDAQ:ARDX) Hits New 1-Year Low After Earnings Miss

Shares of Ardelyx, Inc. (NASDAQ:ARDX) hit a new 52-week low during mid-day trading on Friday after the company announced weaker than expected quarterly earnings. The company traded as low as $4.02 and last traded at $4.39, with a volume of 2046815 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $5.47.

The biopharmaceutical company reported ($0.17) earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.10) by ($0.07). The business had revenue of $74.11 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $79.40 million. Ardelyx had a negative net margin of 11.73% and a negative return on equity of 24.87%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 61.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted ($0.11) EPS.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

ARDX has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Raymond James lowered Ardelyx from a “strong-buy” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $11.00 target price for the company. in a report on Friday. HC Wainwright reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $5.50 price objective on shares of Ardelyx in a research report on Friday, February 21st. BTIG Research started coverage on shares of Ardelyx in a report on Tuesday, March 4th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $14.00 target price on the stock. Cantor Fitzgerald upgraded shares of Ardelyx to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 4th. Finally, Scotiabank initiated coverage on shares of Ardelyx in a report on Friday, March 7th. They issued a “sector outperform” rating and a $15.00 price objective on the stock. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $10.39.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO Michael Raab sold 41,666 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, April 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $4.59, for a total transaction of $191,246.94. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,615,587 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,415,544.33. This trade represents a 2.51 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director David M. Mott purchased 77,729 shares of Ardelyx stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 24th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $5.00 per share, with a total value of $388,645.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 2,015,494 shares in the company, valued at $10,077,470. The trade was a 4.01 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders have sold 116,410 shares of company stock worth $600,475 in the last ninety days. 5.90% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Janus Henderson Group PLC boosted its stake in shares of Ardelyx by 13.3% during the fourth quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 24,387,941 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $123,587,000 after buying an additional 2,858,061 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in Ardelyx by 5.6% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 14,362,659 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $72,819,000 after acquiring an additional 767,111 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Ardelyx by 0.4% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 5,509,730 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $27,941,000 after purchasing an additional 21,988 shares during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp increased its holdings in shares of Ardelyx by 2.4% in the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 2,150,974 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $10,905,000 after purchasing an additional 50,441 shares during the period. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Ardelyx by 5.0% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,035,135 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $10,318,000 after purchasing an additional 96,357 shares during the last quarter. 58.92% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Ardelyx Trading Down 24.5 %

The company has a fifty day moving average of $5.00 and a two-hundred day moving average of $5.25. The company has a quick ratio of 4.31, a current ratio of 4.58 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.87. The stock has a market capitalization of $984.41 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -25.81 and a beta of 0.76.

About Ardelyx

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.