Ardelyx (NASDAQ:ARDX) Trading Up 9.4%

Ardelyx, Inc. (NASDAQ:ARDX - Get Free Report)'s stock price traded up 9.4% during mid-day trading on Friday . The stock traded as high as $7.87 and last traded at $7.83. 2,034,324 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 67% from the average session volume of 6,239,471 shares. The stock had previously closed at $7.16.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on ARDX. SVB Leerink began coverage on shares of Ardelyx in a research note on Friday. They issued an "outperform" rating and a $14.00 price target on the stock. Wedbush restated an "outperform" rating and set a $13.00 price target on shares of Ardelyx in a report on Friday, February 23rd. Cantor Fitzgerald restated an "overweight" rating on shares of Ardelyx in a report on Friday, January 12th. StockNews.com cut shares of Ardelyx from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Monday, February 26th. Finally, Raymond James upped their price target on shares of Ardelyx from $12.00 to $15.00 and gave the company a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, January 9th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Ardelyx has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $12.56.

Ardelyx Price Performance

The stock's 50-day moving average price is $8.58 and its 200 day moving average price is $6.38. The firm has a market cap of $1.75 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -25.00 and a beta of 0.85. The company has a quick ratio of 4.64, a current ratio of 4.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30.

Ardelyx (NASDAQ:ARDX - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 22nd. The biopharmaceutical company reported ($0.12) EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.09) by ($0.03). Ardelyx had a negative net margin of 53.08% and a negative return on equity of 43.57%. The company had revenue of $34.36 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $34.26 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.06 EPS. The firm's quarterly revenue was down 22.2% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts predict that Ardelyx, Inc. will post -0.44 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, insider Elizabeth A. Grammer sold 86,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $7.73, for a total transaction of $664,780.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 312,993 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,419,435.89. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In other news, insider David P. Rosenbaum sold 30,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, January 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $6.64, for a total transaction of $199,200.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 286,596 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,902,997.44. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Elizabeth A. Grammer sold 86,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $7.73, for a total transaction of $664,780.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 312,993 shares in the company, valued at $2,419,435.89. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 171,320 shares of company stock valued at $1,354,774 over the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 5.50% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Ardelyx

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Xponance Inc. grew its stake in shares of Ardelyx by 12.6% during the fourth quarter. Xponance Inc. now owns 14,112 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $87,000 after purchasing an additional 1,575 shares during the last quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp grew its stake in shares of Ardelyx by 5.6% during the fourth quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 30,269 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $188,000 after purchasing an additional 1,608 shares during the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Ardelyx by 9.7% during the fourth quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 27,450 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $170,000 after purchasing an additional 2,416 shares during the last quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC grew its stake in shares of Ardelyx by 13.7% during the first quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC now owns 24,401 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $116,000 after purchasing an additional 2,939 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Arizona State Retirement System grew its stake in shares of Ardelyx by 5.3% during the third quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 61,064 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $249,000 after purchasing an additional 3,064 shares during the last quarter. 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.