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

Ardelyx, Inc. (NASDAQ:ARDX) shares reached a new 52-week low on Friday following a weaker than expected earnings announcement. The company traded as low as $4.10 and last traded at $4.0290, with a volume of 290171 shares. The stock had previously closed at $4.87.

The biopharmaceutical company reported ($0.07) earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.05) by ($0.02). The company had revenue of $120.88 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $121.03 million. Ardelyx had a negative return on equity of 38.11% and a negative net margin of 13.58%.Ardelyx’s revenue for the quarter was up 34.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned ($0.08) EPS.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts recently weighed in on ARDX shares. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH started coverage on shares of Ardelyx in a report on Tuesday, June 16th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $16.00 target price on the stock. Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of Ardelyx from a “sell (d-)” rating to a “sell (e+)” rating in a research report on Monday, June 29th. HC Wainwright restated a “buy” rating and issued a $13.00 price objective on shares of Ardelyx in a report on Friday. Finally, Zacks Research cut 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 assigned a Buy rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Ardelyx presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $15.60.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Ardelyx news, insider Mike Kelliher sold 7,248 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $6.27, for a total value of $45,444.96. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 357,418 shares in the company, valued at $2,241,010.86. This represents a 1.99% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Eric Duane Foster sold 7,998 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $6.27, for a total transaction of $50,147.46. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 417,972 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,620,684.44. The trade was a 1.88% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold 24,572 shares of company stock valued at $154,066 over the last ninety days. 5.30% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Ardelyx

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. AIGH Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in Ardelyx during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $16,320,000. Bank of America Corp DE grew its stake in shares of Ardelyx by 88.8% in the 2nd quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 5,527,988 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $21,670,000 after purchasing an additional 2,600,080 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp grew its stake in shares of Ardelyx by 22.6% in the 4th quarter. State Street Corp now owns 11,912,339 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $69,449,000 after purchasing an additional 2,193,649 shares during the last quarter. Rubric Capital Management LP acquired a new position in shares of Ardelyx in the first quarter valued at approximately $11,147,000. Finally, J. Goldman & Co LP lifted its holdings in shares of Ardelyx by 1,034.8% during the fourth quarter. J. Goldman & Co LP now owns 1,622,736 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $9,461,000 after purchasing an additional 1,479,736 shares during the period. 58.92% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Ardelyx Trading Down 17.3%

The firm has a market capitalization of $995.04 million, a PE ratio of -17.26 and a beta of 0.70. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $5.41 and a 200-day moving average price of $6.09. The company has a current ratio of 3.49, a quick ratio of 3.28 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.37.

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.