Ardelyx (NASDAQ:ARDX) Stock Price Down 3.5% – Here’s What Happened

Ardelyx, Inc. (NASDAQ:ARDX)’s share price dropped 3.5% during trading on Tuesday . The stock traded as low as $5.07 and last traded at $5.07. Approximately 287,901 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 93% from the average daily volume of 4,306,771 shares. The stock had previously closed at $5.25.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

ARDX has been the topic of several recent research reports. Scotiabank initiated coverage on Ardelyx in a research report on Friday, March 7th. They set a “sector outperform” rating and a $15.00 target price on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group cut their price target on shares of Ardelyx from $11.00 to $8.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 2nd. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH restated a “buy” rating and issued a $11.00 target price on shares of Ardelyx in a research note on Friday, March 7th. Piper Sandler upgraded shares of Ardelyx to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 12th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald raised Ardelyx to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 4th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Ardelyx has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $10.95.

Ardelyx Stock Down 1.4 %

The company has a market capitalization of $1.23 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -32.34 and a beta of 0.87. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.87, a current ratio of 4.58 and a quick ratio of 4.31. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $5.42 and a 200 day simple moving average of $5.53.

Ardelyx (NASDAQ:ARDX) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 20th. The biopharmaceutical company reported $0.02 EPS for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.02. The company had revenue of $116.13 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $111.16 million. Ardelyx had a negative net margin of 11.73% and a negative return on equity of 24.87%. As a group, equities analysts predict that Ardelyx, Inc. will post -0.18 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other Ardelyx news, CEO Michael Raab sold 41,666 shares of Ardelyx stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $5.31, for a total value of $221,246.46. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 1,129,552 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,997,921.12. The trade was a 3.56 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director David M. Mott acquired 77,729 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 24th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $5.00 per share, with a total value of $388,645.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 2,015,494 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $10,077,470. This represents a 4.01 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 158,076 shares of company stock valued at $853,804. Insiders own 5.90% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Ardelyx

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Ensign Peak Advisors Inc boosted its stake in Ardelyx by 3.1% in the 4th quarter. Ensign Peak Advisors Inc now owns 73,950 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $375,000 after buying an additional 2,200 shares during the last quarter. B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. boosted its position in shares of Ardelyx by 3.4% in the third quarter. B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 90,000 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $599,000 after acquiring an additional 3,000 shares during the last quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. increased its position in Ardelyx by 2.3% during the fourth quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 154,625 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $788,000 after purchasing an additional 3,550 shares during the last quarter. Swiss National Bank raised its position in shares of Ardelyx by 1.0% in the 4th quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 463,100 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $2,348,000 after buying an additional 4,800 shares during the period. Finally, Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC grew its position in Ardelyx by 42.7% during the fourth quarter. Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC now owns 16,486 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $84,000 after acquiring an additional 4,933 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 58.92% of the company’s stock.

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.