Insider Selling: Ardelyx (NASDAQ:ARDX) CEO Sells $226,095.64 in Stock

Ardelyx, Inc. (NASDAQ:ARDX) CEO Michael Raab sold 58,574 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $3.86, for a total value of $226,095.64. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 1,619,792 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,252,397.12. This represents a 3.49% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link.

Ardelyx Price Performance

Shares of ARDX stock opened at $3.82 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $951.91 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -17.36 and a beta of 0.70. Ardelyx, Inc. has a 12 month low of $3.72 and a 12 month high of $8.40. The company has a quick ratio of 3.15, a current ratio of 3.34 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.69. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $4.89 and a 200 day moving average price of $5.70.

Ardelyx (NASDAQ:ARDX) last released its earnings results on Thursday, August 6th. The biopharmaceutical company reported ($0.07) earnings per share (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 in the previous year, the company posted ($0.08) earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 34.3% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts expect that Ardelyx, Inc. will post -0.2 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV grew its stake in Ardelyx by 4.7% in the fourth quarter. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV now owns 38,512 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $225,000 after acquiring an additional 1,722 shares during the period. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. lifted its position in Ardelyx by 26.7% in the 4th quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 11,807 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $69,000 after acquiring an additional 2,491 shares in the last quarter. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH boosted its stake in Ardelyx by 0.7% in the 4th quarter. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH now owns 347,609 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $2,027,000 after purchasing an additional 2,532 shares during the period. Cerity Partners LLC increased its holdings in Ardelyx by 5.3% during the 4th quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 59,359 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $346,000 after purchasing an additional 2,972 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC increased its holdings in Ardelyx by 24.2% during the 3rd quarter. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC now owns 15,263 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $84,000 after purchasing an additional 2,975 shares in the last quarter. 58.92% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

ARDX has been the subject of several recent research reports. Piper Sandler dropped their target price on shares of Ardelyx from $16.00 to $15.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, August 17th. Weiss Ratings cut Ardelyx from a “sell (d-)” rating to a “sell (e+)” rating in a research note on Monday, June 29th. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH began coverage on Ardelyx in a report on Tuesday, June 16th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $16.00 price objective for the company. HC Wainwright reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $13.00 target price on shares of Ardelyx in a research note on Friday, August 7th. Finally, Zacks Research cut Ardelyx from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 22nd. One equities 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.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $13.90.

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.