Ardelyx, Inc. (NASDAQ:ARDX) Insider Laura A. Williams Sells 4,941 Shares

Ardelyx, Inc. (NASDAQ:ARDX) insider Laura A. Williams sold 4,941 shares of Ardelyx stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 20th. The stock was 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 in the company, valued at approximately $1,707,378.48. The trade was a 1.60 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink.

Ardelyx Price Performance

Shares of Ardelyx stock traded down $0.67 on Friday, hitting $5.06. 6,744,975 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 4,432,597. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.20 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -16.85 and a beta of 0.85. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $5.30 and a 200 day moving average price of $5.64. Ardelyx, Inc. has a 1-year low of $4.32 and a 1-year high of $9.83. The company has a quick ratio of 3.87, a current ratio of 4.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64.

Ardelyx (NASDAQ:ARDX) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 20th. The biopharmaceutical company reported $0.02 EPS for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.02. Ardelyx had a negative return on equity of 46.60% and a negative net margin of 28.82%. The firm had revenue of $116.13 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $111.16 million. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Ardelyx, Inc. will post -0.17 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on the company. Raymond James reiterated a “strong-buy” rating and issued a $13.00 price objective (down from $15.00) on shares of Ardelyx in a report on Friday. Piper Sandler lifted their price objective on Ardelyx from $7.00 to $8.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, January 27th. Cantor Fitzgerald upgraded Ardelyx to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Citigroup lowered their price objective on Ardelyx from $12.00 to $10.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, November 4th. Finally, HC Wainwright restated a “neutral” rating and set a $5.50 target price on shares of Ardelyx in a report on Friday. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $9.93.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in ARDX. CWM LLC lifted its holdings in Ardelyx by 328.1% in the third quarter. CWM LLC now owns 12,814 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $88,000 after acquiring an additional 9,821 shares during the last quarter. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. lifted its holdings in Ardelyx by 9.5% in the third quarter. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. now owns 643,912 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $4,437,000 after acquiring an additional 55,720 shares during the last quarter. Values First Advisors Inc. raised its position in Ardelyx by 14.6% in the third quarter. Values First Advisors Inc. now owns 46,282 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $319,000 after purchasing an additional 5,890 shares during the period. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC raised its position in Ardelyx by 34.3% in the third quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 28,365 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $195,000 after purchasing an additional 7,245 shares during the period. Finally, China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. raised its position in Ardelyx by 64.7% in the third quarter. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 45,280 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $312,000 after purchasing an additional 17,792 shares during the period. 58.92% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.