Eric Duane Foster Sells 8,562 Shares of Ardelyx (NASDAQ:ARDX) Stock

Ardelyx, Inc. (NASDAQ:ARDX) insider Eric Duane Foster sold 8,562 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $3.86, for a total value of $33,049.32. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 409,410 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,580,322.60. The trade was a 2.05% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link.

Ardelyx Price Performance

Shares of ARDX stock opened at $3.83 on Thursday. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $4.93 and its 200 day simple moving average is $5.72. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.69, a current ratio of 3.34 and a quick ratio of 3.15. The firm has a market cap of $954.40 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -17.41 and a beta of 0.70. Ardelyx, Inc. has a one year low of $3.72 and a one year high of $8.40.

Ardelyx (NASDAQ:ARDX) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 6th. The biopharmaceutical company reported ($0.07) earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.05) by ($0.02). Ardelyx had a negative net margin of 12.35% and a negative return on equity of 36.00%. The company had revenue of $120.88 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $121.03 million. During the same quarter last year, the company earned ($0.08) earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 34.3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts expect that Ardelyx, Inc. will post -0.2 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Trading of Ardelyx

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new stake in Ardelyx in the second quarter worth about $119,874,000. Jupiter Topco LLC bought a new stake in Ardelyx in the second quarter valued at approximately $27,043,000. AIGH Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Ardelyx in the 2nd quarter valued at $16,320,000. Bank of America Corp DE increased its holdings in shares of Ardelyx by 88.8% in the second quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 5,527,988 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $21,670,000 after acquiring an additional 2,600,080 shares in the last quarter. Finally, State Street Corp raised its holdings in Ardelyx by 22.6% during the 4th quarter. State Street Corp now owns 11,912,339 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $69,449,000 after buying an additional 2,193,649 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 58.92% of the company’s stock.

Key Ardelyx News

Here are the key news stories impacting Ardelyx this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Institutional interest provides a supportive signal. BlackRock, Jupiter Topco and AIGH Capital Management reportedly initiated positions, while Bank of America and State Street increased their holdings. Institutions and hedge funds own approximately 58.9% of Ardelyx.
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst sentiment remains broadly favorable, with a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $13.90. Piper Sandler, HC Wainwright, Citigroup and TD Cowen continue to maintain positive ratings, although several have reduced their targets.
• Neutral Sentiment: Reported short-interest data showed zero shares short and a zero-day days-to-cover ratio, but the report also described the figure as a “large increase.” The internally inconsistent data makes this an unreliable trading signal.
• Negative Sentiment: Eight Ardelyx insiders sold a combined 126,059 shares for approximately $486,588 at an average price of $3.86 on August 21. The transactions included CEO Michael Raab, CFO Susan Hohenleitner and other company insiders; each seller retained a substantial position, but the broad-based selling may weigh on sentiment. Ardelyx insider selling report
• Negative Sentiment: Investors purchased 11,731 put options on Ardelyx, about 328% above the average daily volume of 2,743 contracts. The activity suggests increased hedging or bearish speculation, though it does not necessarily indicate a change in the company’s fundamentals. Ardelyx put options report

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports 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. BTIG Research reduced their price target on shares of Ardelyx from $17.00 to $14.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, August 7th. Piper Sandler decreased their price objective on shares of Ardelyx from $16.00 to $15.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, August 17th. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH started coverage on shares of Ardelyx in a report on Tuesday, June 16th. They set a “buy” rating and a $16.00 price objective for the company. Finally, HC Wainwright reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $13.00 target price on shares of Ardelyx in a research note on Friday, August 7th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have assigned a Buy rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Ardelyx currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $13.90.

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.