Ardelyx (NASDAQ:ARDX) Share Price Passes Below 50-Day Moving Average – Time to Sell?

Ardelyx, Inc. (NASDAQ:ARDX)’s share price passed below its 50-day moving average during trading on Wednesday . The stock has a 50-day moving average of $5.96 and traded as low as $5.26. Ardelyx shares last traded at $5.43, with a volume of 3,561,974 shares traded.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

ARDX has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Williams Trading set a $17.00 price objective on shares of Ardelyx in a research report on Thursday, March 12th. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH started coverage on Ardelyx in a research report on Tuesday, June 16th. They set a “buy” rating and a $16.00 price target on the stock. Weiss Ratings cut shares of Ardelyx from a “sell (d-)” rating to a “sell (e+)” rating in a research report on Monday, June 29th. Finally, Leerink Partners reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Ardelyx in a research note on Thursday, March 12th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have assigned a Buy rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $15.73.

Ardelyx Trading Down 1.9%

The stock has a market capitalization of $1.30 billion, a P/E ratio of -22.96 and a beta of 0.61. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.37, a current ratio of 3.49 and a quick ratio of 3.28. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $5.93 and its 200 day moving average price is $6.26.

Ardelyx (NASDAQ:ARDX) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 30th. The biopharmaceutical company reported ($0.15) earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.13) by ($0.02). Ardelyx had a negative return on equity of 38.11% and a negative net margin of 13.58%.The business had revenue of $94.47 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $92.78 million. During the same quarter last year, the business posted ($0.17) EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 27.5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Ardelyx, Inc. will post -0.07 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Ardelyx

In other news, insider Mike Kelliher sold 7,248 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $6.27, for a total value of $45,444.96. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 357,418 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,241,010.86. This represents a 1.99% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Eric Duane Foster sold 7,998 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $6.27, for a total value of $50,147.46. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 417,972 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,620,684.44. This trade represents a 1.88% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last three months, insiders sold 24,572 shares of company stock valued at $154,066. 5.30% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Ardelyx

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. First Horizon Corp grew its stake in shares of Ardelyx by 120.4% in the 4th quarter. First Horizon Corp now owns 7,906 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $46,000 after buying an additional 4,319 shares during the last quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. bought a new position in Ardelyx in the 4th quarter worth about $60,000. Swiss Life Asset Management Ltd purchased a new position in Ardelyx in the third quarter worth about $57,000. Krilogy Financial LLC purchased a new position in Ardelyx in the first quarter worth about $70,000. Finally, PVG Asset Management Corp bought a new position in shares of Ardelyx in the first quarter worth approximately $65,000. Institutional investors own 58.92% of the company’s stock.

About Ardelyx

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.