Ardelyx (NASDAQ:ARDX) Stock Price Down 7.6% Following Insider Selling

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

Specifically, CEO Michael Raab sold 22,964 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $5.62, for a total value of $129,057.68. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 1,085,755 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,101,943.10. The trade was a 2.07 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CFO Justin A. Renz sold 5,171 shares of the firm’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 transaction of $29,061.02. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 285,968 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,607,140.16. The trade was a 1.78 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In other Ardelyx news, insider Laura A. Williams sold 4,941 shares of the business’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 sale, the insider now directly owns 303,804 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,707,378.48. The trade was a 1.60 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on ARDX shares. Raymond James reaffirmed a “strong-buy” rating and issued a $13.00 price target (down from $15.00) on shares of Ardelyx in a research report on Friday. Jefferies Financial Group cut their price target on Ardelyx from $11.00 to $8.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, January 2nd. Piper Sandler raised their price objective on shares of Ardelyx from $7.00 to $8.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Citigroup cut their target price on shares of Ardelyx from $12.00 to $10.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, November 4th. Finally, HC Wainwright restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $5.50 price target on shares of Ardelyx in a research report on Friday. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $9.93.

Ardelyx Stock Performance

The stock has a market capitalization of $1.20 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -31.59 and a beta of 0.85. The company has a quick ratio of 3.87, a current ratio of 4.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $5.30 and its 200 day simple moving average is $5.63.

Ardelyx (NASDAQ:ARDX) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, February 20th. The biopharmaceutical company reported $0.02 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.02. Ardelyx had a negative net margin of 11.73% and a negative return on equity of 25.74%. The company had revenue of $116.13 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $111.16 million. Analysts expect that Ardelyx, Inc. will post -0.18 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Trading of Ardelyx

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in ARDX. GF Fund Management CO. LTD. acquired a new position in shares of Ardelyx in the 4th quarter valued at $25,000. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Ardelyx during the fourth quarter worth $35,000. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. bought a new stake in shares of Ardelyx in the fourth quarter valued at about $41,000. Quarry LP bought a new stake in Ardelyx in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $51,000. Finally, Rehmann Capital Advisory Group bought a new stake in shares of Ardelyx in the fourth quarter worth $51,000. 58.92% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.