Ardelyx (NASDAQ:ARDX) Shares Gap Up on Earnings Beat

Key Points

• Ardelyx Inc. gapped up on Tuesday, opening at $5.07 after reporting better-than-expected earnings, with an EPS of ($0.08) compared to the consensus estimate of ($0.13).
• The company achieved a revenue of $97.66 million for the quarter, surpassing expectations and reflecting a 23.0% year-over-year increase.
• Insider trading activity included CEO Michael Raab selling 46,817 shares and CFO Justin A. Renz selling 7,218 shares, with both executives decreasing their respective ownership stakes in the company.

Ardelyx, Inc. (NASDAQ:ARDX - Get Free Report) gapped up before the market opened on Tuesday following a stronger than expected earnings report. The stock had previously closed at $4.39, but opened at $5.07. Ardelyx shares last traded at $5.06, with a volume of 3,144,528 shares.

The biopharmaceutical company reported ($0.08) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.13) by $0.05. Ardelyx had a negative net margin of 14.60% and a negative return on equity of 36.57%. The firm had revenue of $97.66 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $82.69 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted ($0.07) earnings per share. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 23.0% compared to the same quarter last year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have recently commented on ARDX. Piper Sandler boosted their price objective on Ardelyx from $8.00 to $9.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday. Citigroup reduced their price objective on shares of Ardelyx from $11.00 to $10.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. Wedbush reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and set a $14.00 price target (up previously from $13.00) on shares of Ardelyx in a research note on Tuesday. Raymond James Financial reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and set a $12.00 price target (up from $11.00) on shares of Ardelyx in a research note on Tuesday. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Ardelyx from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Monday, May 5th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has issued a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Ardelyx presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $11.50.

Insider Activity

In other Ardelyx news, Director David M. Mott purchased 200,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Monday, June 16th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $3.63 per share, for a total transaction of $726,000.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director directly owned 2,896,871 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,515,641.73. This trade represents a 7.42% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Mike Kelliher sold 14,522 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $4.08, for a total value of $59,249.76. Following the transaction, the insider owned 282,158 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,151,204.64. This represents a 4.89% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have purchased 500,000 shares of company stock worth $1,793,000 and have sold 83,477 shares worth $340,586. 4.80% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Ardelyx

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of ARDX. Janus Henderson Group PLC increased its holdings 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. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in Ardelyx by 4.4% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 14,997,234 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $73,636,000 after purchasing an additional 634,575 shares during the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC lifted its holdings in Ardelyx by 118.2% during the 1st quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 6,465,262 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $31,744,000 after purchasing an additional 3,501,782 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in Ardelyx by 0.4% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 5,509,730 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $27,941,000 after buying an additional 21,988 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Nuveen LLC bought a new stake in Ardelyx in the 1st quarter valued at $16,735,000. Institutional investors own 58.92% of the company's stock.

Ardelyx Trading Up 1.4%

The business's 50-day moving average is $4.08 and its 200 day moving average is $4.63. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.44, a current ratio of 4.30 and a quick ratio of 3.81. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.25 billion, a P/E ratio of -22.61 and a beta of 0.68.

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.