Ardelyx (NASDAQ:ARDX) Shares Down 3.5% – Time to Sell?

Shares of Ardelyx, Inc. (NASDAQ:ARDX) were down 3.5% during mid-day trading on Tuesday . The company traded as low as $5.07 and last traded at $5.07. Approximately 287,901 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 93% from the average daily volume of 4,306,771 shares. The stock had previously closed at $5.25.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts recently issued reports on ARDX shares. Cantor Fitzgerald raised shares of Ardelyx to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 4th. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $11.00 price target on shares of Ardelyx in a report on Friday, March 7th. Piper Sandler raised Ardelyx to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 12th. Raymond James reaffirmed a “strong-buy” rating and set a $13.00 price target (down previously from $15.00) on shares of Ardelyx in a research report on Friday, February 21st. Finally, BTIG Research started coverage on Ardelyx in a report on Tuesday, March 4th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $14.00 price target for the company. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $10.95.

Ardelyx Stock Performance

The company has a current ratio of 4.58, a quick ratio of 4.31 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.87. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.20 billion, a P/E ratio of -31.50 and a beta of 0.87. The company’s 50-day moving average is $5.40 and its two-hundred day moving average is $5.53.

Ardelyx (NASDAQ:ARDX) last announced its quarterly 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 return on equity of 24.87% and a negative net margin of 11.73%. The company had revenue of $116.13 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $111.16 million. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Ardelyx, Inc. will post -0.18 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Ardelyx news, CEO Michael Raab sold 41,668 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, March 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $5.36, for a total value of $223,340.48. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 1,635,138 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,764,339.68. This represents a 2.48 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Laura A. Williams sold 4,941 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction 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 sale, the insider now directly owns 303,804 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,707,378.48. This represents a 1.60 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 158,076 shares of company stock worth $853,804 over the last ninety days. Company insiders own 5.90% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Ardelyx

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of ARDX. State Street Corp grew its position in Ardelyx by 1.5% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 12,141,850 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $83,657,000 after purchasing an additional 176,789 shares in the last quarter. Rubric Capital Management LP lifted its stake in shares of Ardelyx by 68.5% in the third quarter. Rubric Capital Management LP now owns 3,060,191 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $21,085,000 after buying an additional 1,243,606 shares during the last quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets lifted its position in Ardelyx by 274.3% during the 3rd quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 181,387 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $1,250,000 after acquiring an additional 132,928 shares during the last quarter. Vestal Point Capital LP acquired a new position in shares of Ardelyx during the 3rd quarter worth about $3,445,000. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its stake in Ardelyx by 1.6% during the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 387,144 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $2,667,000 after purchasing an additional 6,093 shares during the period. 58.92% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.