Ardelyx (NASDAQ:ARDX) Shares Pass Above 50 Day Moving Average – Should You Sell?

Ardelyx, Inc. (NASDAQ:ARDX)’s share price crossed above its fifty day moving average during trading on Wednesday . The stock has a fifty day moving average of $6.08 and traded as high as $6.41. Ardelyx shares last traded at $6.27, with a volume of 2,793,623 shares traded.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on ARDX shares. Jefferies Financial Group reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $15.00 price target on shares of Ardelyx in a report on Tuesday, January 27th. Williams Trading set a $17.00 price objective on Ardelyx in a research report on Thursday, March 12th. HC Wainwright upped their target price on shares of Ardelyx from $10.00 to $18.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 20th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Ardelyx in a research note on Monday, April 20th. Finally, TD Cowen reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Ardelyx in a research report on Thursday, January 29th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have assigned a Buy rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $15.70.

Ardelyx Price Performance

The stock has a market capitalization of $1.51 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -26.56 and a beta of 0.62. The company has a 50 day moving average of $6.08 and a 200 day moving average of $6.29. The company has a quick ratio of 3.28, a current ratio of 3.49 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.37.

Ardelyx (NASDAQ:ARDX) last released its earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The biopharmaceutical company reported ($0.15) EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.13) by ($0.02). The business had revenue of $94.47 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $92.78 million. Ardelyx had a negative net margin of 13.58% and a negative return on equity of 38.11%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 27.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted ($0.17) earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Ardelyx, Inc. will post -0.05 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Ardelyx

In related news, insider Mike Kelliher sold 7,248 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction 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 directly owned 357,418 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,241,010.86. This represents a 1.99% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Michael Raab sold 41,666 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $5.84, for a total value of $243,329.44. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 1,816,448 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $10,608,056.32. The trade was a 2.24% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 66,238 shares of company stock worth $397,396. 5.30% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Ardelyx

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in ARDX. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. grew its stake in shares of Ardelyx by 2.9% during the 1st quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 159,061 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $781,000 after buying an additional 4,436 shares during the period. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Ardelyx by 10.3% during the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 2,378,738 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $11,680,000 after buying an additional 221,486 shares during the period. Focus Partners Wealth purchased a new stake in shares of Ardelyx during the 1st quarter valued at $72,000. Strs Ohio purchased a new stake in shares of Ardelyx during the 1st quarter valued at $135,000. Finally, Legal & General Group Plc grew its stake in shares of Ardelyx by 13.5% during the 2nd quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 275,344 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $1,080,000 after buying an additional 32,738 shares during the period. 58.92% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.