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

Ardelyx, Inc. (NASDAQ:ARDX)’s share price gapped down prior to trading on Thursday . The stock had previously closed at $6.36, but opened at $5.70. Ardelyx shares last traded at $5.63, with a volume of 1,952,513 shares trading hands.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts recently commented on ARDX shares. Raymond James reaffirmed a “strong-buy” rating and issued a $13.00 target price (down from $15.00) on shares of Ardelyx in a research report on Friday. Jefferies Financial Group decreased their target price on Ardelyx from $11.00 to $8.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, January 2nd. HC Wainwright reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $5.50 target price on shares of Ardelyx in a research report on Friday. Cantor Fitzgerald raised Ardelyx to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, Citigroup decreased their price objective on Ardelyx from $12.00 to $10.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Monday, November 4th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $9.93.

Ardelyx Trading Down 11.6 %

The company has a market capitalization of $1.20 billion, a P/E ratio of -31.59 and a beta of 0.85. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64, a current ratio of 4.03 and a quick ratio of 3.87. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $5.30 and a 200-day moving average price 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, meeting the consensus estimate of $0.02. The company had revenue of $116.13 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $111.16 million. Ardelyx had a negative return on equity of 25.74% and a negative net margin of 11.73%. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Ardelyx, Inc. will post -0.18 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director David M. Mott acquired 213,300 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, December 19th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $4.67 per share, for a total transaction of $996,111.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now owns 1,638,765 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,653,032.55. This trade represents a 14.96 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Laura A. Williams sold 4,941 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $5.62, for a total value of $27,768.42. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 303,804 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,707,378.48. The trade was a 1.60 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 166,408 shares of company stock valued at $896,463 over the last three months. Corporate insiders own 5.90% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Ardelyx

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of ARDX. Janus Henderson Group PLC lifted its stake in Ardelyx by 13.3% in the fourth quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 24,387,941 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $123,587,000 after purchasing an additional 2,858,061 shares during the last quarter. Two Seas Capital LP purchased a new stake in shares of Ardelyx during the fourth quarter worth $9,407,000. Rock Springs Capital Management LP purchased a new stake in shares of Ardelyx during the fourth quarter worth $7,421,000. D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. lifted its position in shares of Ardelyx by 9,499.8% during the fourth quarter. D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. now owns 1,468,668 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $7,446,000 after acquiring an additional 1,453,369 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Point72 Asset Management L.P. purchased a new stake in shares of Ardelyx during the fourth quarter worth $6,762,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 58.92% of the company’s stock.

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.