Ardelyx (NASDAQ:ARDX) Shares Pass Below Two Hundred Day Moving Average – Here’s Why

Shares of Ardelyx, Inc. (NASDAQ:ARDX) passed below its 200-day moving average during trading on Wednesday . The stock has a 200-day moving average of $6.11 and traded as low as $5.94. Ardelyx shares last traded at $6.02, with a volume of 2,962,058 shares trading hands.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts recently commented on the stock. Williams Trading set a $17.00 price objective on shares of Ardelyx in a research report on Thursday, March 12th. Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $15.00 price objective on shares of Ardelyx in a research report on Tuesday, January 27th. HC Wainwright boosted their price objective on shares of Ardelyx from $10.00 to $18.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 20th. Citigroup boosted their price objective on shares of Ardelyx from $11.00 to $14.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 9th. Finally, Raymond James Financial reaffirmed a “strong-buy” rating and set a $19.00 price objective on shares of Ardelyx in a research report on Thursday, January 8th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have assigned a Buy rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $15.70.

Ardelyx Price Performance

The stock’s 50-day moving average is $6.07 and its 200 day moving average is $6.12. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.46 billion, a PE ratio of -23.80 and a beta of 0.66. The company has a quick ratio of 4.11, a current ratio of 4.31 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21.

Ardelyx (NASDAQ:ARDX) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, February 19th. The biopharmaceutical company reported ($0.01) EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.02 by ($0.03). The business had revenue of $125.22 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $118.04 million. Ardelyx had a negative return on equity of 40.63% and a negative net margin of 15.12%.The business’s revenue was up 7.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.02 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts predict that Ardelyx, Inc. will post 0.01 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Ardelyx news, insider Eric Duane Foster sold 10,439 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $5.85, for a total value of $61,068.15. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 425,970 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,491,924.50. The trade was a 2.39% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Michael Raab sold 41,666 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $5.84, for a total transaction of $243,329.44. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 1,816,448 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $10,608,056.32. This represents a 2.24% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last three months, insiders sold 128,604 shares of company stock valued at $751,917. 4.80% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Ardelyx

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in ARDX. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. grew its position in Ardelyx by 2.9% in the first quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 159,061 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $781,000 after acquiring an additional 4,436 shares in the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. grew its position in Ardelyx by 10.3% in the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 2,378,738 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $11,680,000 after acquiring an additional 221,486 shares in the last quarter. Focus Partners Wealth bought a new stake in shares of Ardelyx during the 1st quarter worth $72,000. Strs Ohio bought a new stake in shares of Ardelyx during the 1st quarter worth $135,000. Finally, Legal & General Group Plc boosted its holdings 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 worth $1,080,000 after buying an additional 32,738 shares during the period. 58.92% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.