Ardelyx (NASDAQ:ARDX) CEO Sells 58,574 Shares

Key Points

• CEO Michael Raab sold 58,574 Ardelyx shares at an average price of $3.86, generating $226,095.64 and reducing his ownership by 3.49% to 1,619,792 shares.
• Ardelyx shares recently traded at $3.78, near their 52-week low of $3.72 and well below the 52-week high of $8.40. The company’s latest quarterly loss of $0.07 per share missed estimates, although revenue increased 34.3% year over year to $120.88 million.
• Analyst sentiment remains a “Moderate Buy”, with a consensus price target of $13.90, despite recent target cuts and a Zacks Research downgrade to “strong sell.” Institutional investors own approximately 58.92% of the company.

Ardelyx, Inc. (NASDAQ:ARDX - Get Free Report) CEO Michael Raab sold 58,574 shares of Ardelyx stock in a transaction on Friday, August 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $3.86, for a total value of $226,095.64. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 1,619,792 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,252,397.12. This trade represents a 3.49% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website.

Ardelyx Price Performance

Shares of Ardelyx stock traded up $0.04 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $3.78. The stock had a trading volume of 3,418,138 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,069,888. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.69, a current ratio of 3.34 and a quick ratio of 3.15. The firm has a market cap of $941.94 million, a P/E ratio of -17.18 and a beta of 0.70. The business has a fifty day moving average of $4.97 and a two-hundred day moving average of $5.75. Ardelyx, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $3.72 and a fifty-two week high of $8.40.

Ardelyx (NASDAQ:ARDX - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, August 6th. The biopharmaceutical company reported ($0.07) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.05) by ($0.02). Ardelyx had a negative return on equity of 36.00% and a negative net margin of 12.35%.The firm had revenue of $120.88 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $121.03 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned ($0.08) earnings per share. Ardelyx's revenue was up 34.3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Ardelyx, Inc. will post -0.2 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

ARDX has been the subject of several analyst reports. Zacks Research downgraded Ardelyx from a "hold" rating to a "strong sell" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 22nd. BTIG Research cut their price objective on Ardelyx from $17.00 to $14.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, August 7th. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH initiated coverage on shares of Ardelyx in a research note on Tuesday, June 16th. They set a "buy" rating and a $16.00 price objective for the company. Piper Sandler decreased their target price on shares of Ardelyx from $16.00 to $15.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Monday, August 17th. Finally, Citigroup dropped their target price on shares of Ardelyx from $14.00 to $11.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, August 10th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have given a Buy rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $13.90.

Institutional Trading of Ardelyx

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Knott David M Jr bought a new stake in shares of Ardelyx during the 1st quarter worth $1,240,000. AIGH Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in Ardelyx in the 2nd quarter valued at $16,320,000. Rubric Capital Management LP bought a new position in Ardelyx in the 1st quarter worth $11,147,000. Clay Northam Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Ardelyx in the 2nd quarter worth $1,704,000. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in Ardelyx by 3.3% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 18,979,483 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock worth $110,650,000 after acquiring an additional 610,162 shares during the last quarter. 58.92% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Ardelyx Company Profile

Ardelyx, Inc NASDAQ: ARDX is a clinical‐stage biopharmaceutical company focused on discovering, developing and commercializing targeted small molecule drugs for cardio‐renal and gastrointestinal diseases. The company's lead marketed product, tenapanor (sold under the brand name XPHOZAH in the United States), is approved for the treatment of hyperphosphatemia in patients with chronic kidney disease on dialysis. Ardelyx's proprietary approach targets epithelial transporters in the gastrointestinal tract, offering localized activity with limited systemic exposure.

Beyond tenapanor, Ardelyx's development pipeline includes treatments designed to address other complications in kidney disease and related metabolic disorders.

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