Ardelyx (NASDAQ:ARDX) Shares Down 7.6% – What’s Next?

Ardelyx, Inc. (NASDAQ:ARDX) traded down 7.6% during trading on Friday . The company traded as low as $5.25 and last traded at $5.29. 1,107,908 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 74% from the average session volume of 4,252,604 shares. The stock had previously closed at $5.72.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on the stock. Citigroup reduced their target price on shares of Ardelyx from $12.00 to $10.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, November 4th. Jefferies Financial Group lowered their target price on Ardelyx from $11.00 to $8.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, January 2nd. Cantor Fitzgerald upgraded Ardelyx to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, January 30th. HC Wainwright restated a “neutral” rating and set a $5.50 target price on shares of Ardelyx in a report on Friday. Finally, Piper Sandler lifted their price target on Ardelyx from $7.00 to $8.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, January 27th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $9.93.

Ardelyx Stock Performance

The company has a market capitalization of $1.23 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -17.28 and a beta of 0.85. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64, a quick ratio of 3.87 and a current ratio of 4.03. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $5.30 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $5.64.

Ardelyx (NASDAQ:ARDX) last released its earnings results on Thursday, February 20th. The biopharmaceutical company reported $0.02 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.02. Ardelyx had a negative net margin of 28.82% and a negative return on equity of 46.60%. The company had revenue of $116.13 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $111.16 million. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Ardelyx, Inc. will post -0.17 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Ardelyx news, Director David M. Mott bought 213,300 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 19th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $4.67 per share, with a total value of $996,111.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 1,638,765 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,653,032.55. The trade was a 14.96 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Michael Raab sold 25,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, November 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $5.38, for a total transaction of $134,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 1,150,385 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,189,071.30. The trade was a 2.13 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 133,332 shares of company stock valued at $710,576 in the last three months. 5.90% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of ARDX. Mackenzie Financial Corp increased its position in shares of Ardelyx by 266.0% during the fourth quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 140,133 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $710,000 after purchasing an additional 101,841 shares in the last quarter. GF Fund Management CO. LTD. acquired a new stake in Ardelyx in the fourth quarter valued at about $25,000. Palisades Investment Partners LLC increased its position in Ardelyx by 7.1% during the 4th quarter. Palisades Investment Partners LLC now owns 517,781 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $2,625,000 after purchasing an additional 34,432 shares during the period. Two Seas Capital LP purchased a new stake in shares of Ardelyx in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $9,407,000. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC boosted its position in shares of Ardelyx by 32.6% during the 4th quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 578,256 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $2,932,000 after purchasing an additional 142,294 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 58.92% of the company’s stock.

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.