Ardelyx (NASDAQ:ARDX) Hits New 52-Week Low – Time to Sell?

Shares of Ardelyx, Inc. (NASDAQ:ARDX) reached a new 52-week low during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The stock traded as low as $3.35 and last traded at $3.39, with a volume of 5114251 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $3.53.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on ARDX shares. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH reissued a “buy” rating and set a $11.00 target price on shares of Ardelyx in a research note on Friday, March 7th. Cantor Fitzgerald raised Ardelyx to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 4th. Piper Sandler raised Ardelyx to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 12th. Citigroup reduced their target price on Ardelyx from $11.00 to $10.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded Ardelyx from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Monday, May 5th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Ardelyx presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $10.39.

Ardelyx Trading Up 3.0%

The company has a 50 day moving average of $4.70 and a 200 day moving average of $5.11. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.87, a quick ratio of 4.31 and a current ratio of 4.58. The stock has a market capitalization of $808.68 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -21.13 and a beta of 0.76.

Ardelyx (NASDAQ:ARDX) 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 analysts’ expectations of $79.40 million. Ardelyx had a negative return on equity of 24.87% and a negative net margin of 11.73%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 61.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted ($0.11) earnings per share. On average, research analysts predict that Ardelyx, Inc. will post -0.18 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Ardelyx

In related news, insider Laura A. Williams sold 4,941 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $5.62, for a total value of $27,768.42. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 303,804 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,707,378.48. This represents a 1.60% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director David M. Mott acquired 381,377 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 2nd. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $4.22 per share, with a total value of $1,609,410.94. Following the acquisition, the director now directly owns 2,396,871 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $10,114,795.62. This trade represents a 18.92% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 158,076 shares of company stock valued at $777,555. Corporate insiders own 5.90% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Ensign Peak Advisors Inc lifted its holdings in Ardelyx by 3.1% in the fourth quarter. Ensign Peak Advisors Inc now owns 73,950 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $375,000 after acquiring an additional 2,200 shares during the last quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. raised its holdings in Ardelyx by 2.3% in the 4th quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 154,625 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $788,000 after buying an additional 3,550 shares during the period. Swiss National Bank raised its holdings in Ardelyx by 1.0% in the 4th quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 463,100 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $2,348,000 after buying an additional 4,800 shares during the period. Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC increased its holdings in Ardelyx by 42.7% in the 4th quarter. Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC now owns 16,486 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $84,000 after purchasing an additional 4,933 shares during the last quarter. Finally, China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. increased its holdings in Ardelyx by 10.9% in the 4th quarter. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 50,222 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $255,000 after purchasing an additional 4,942 shares during the last quarter. 58.92% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.