Ardelyx (NASDAQ:ARDX) Trading Down 8.4% Following Insider Selling

Ardelyx, Inc. (NASDAQ:ARDX - Get Free Report) traded down 8.4% on Monday following insider selling activity. The stock traded as low as $3.89 and last traded at $3.79. 3,550,524 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 18% from the average session volume of 4,347,468 shares. The stock had previously closed at $4.13.

Specifically, CEO Michael Raab sold 41,666 shares of Ardelyx stock in a transaction on Friday, May 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $4.25, for a total value of $177,080.50. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 1,594,754 shares of the company's stock, valued at $6,777,704.50. The trade was a 2.55 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have issued reports on the company. Raymond James cut Ardelyx from a "strong-buy" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $11.00 target price on the stock. in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Ardelyx from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Monday, May 5th. Cantor Fitzgerald raised shares of Ardelyx to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, March 4th. BTIG Research began coverage on shares of Ardelyx in a research note on Tuesday, March 4th. They set a "buy" rating and a $14.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Piper Sandler upgraded Ardelyx to a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 12th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $10.39.

Ardelyx Stock Performance

The company has a quick ratio of 4.31, a current ratio of 4.58 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.87. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $4.85 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $5.18. The stock has a market cap of $866.10 million, a P/E ratio of -22.63 and a beta of 0.76.

Ardelyx (NASDAQ:ARDX - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The biopharmaceutical company reported ($0.17) earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.10) by ($0.07). The business had revenue of $74.11 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $79.40 million. Ardelyx had a negative return on equity of 24.87% and a negative net margin of 11.73%. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 61.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned ($0.11) earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Ardelyx, Inc. will post -0.18 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Ardelyx

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of ARDX. Janus Henderson Group PLC grew its position in shares of Ardelyx by 13.3% during 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 in the last quarter. Two Seas Capital LP purchased a new position in Ardelyx during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $9,407,000. Rock Springs Capital Management LP bought a new stake in Ardelyx in the 4th quarter worth approximately $7,421,000. D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Ardelyx by 9,499.8% during the 4th 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 4th quarter worth approximately $6,762,000. 58.92% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.