Ardelyx (NASDAQ:ARDX) Hits New 12-Month Low – Here’s What Happened

Ardelyx, Inc. (NASDAQ:ARDX) shares reached a new 52-week low on Monday . The company traded as low as $4.15 and last traded at $4.17, with a volume of 429005 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $4.55.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts recently weighed in on the stock. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $11.00 price objective on shares of Ardelyx in a research note on Friday, March 7th. BTIG Research started coverage on shares of Ardelyx in a research report on Tuesday, March 4th. They set a “buy” rating and a $14.00 target price for the company. HC Wainwright restated a “neutral” rating and set a $5.50 price target on shares of Ardelyx in a report on Friday, February 21st. Raymond James reiterated a “strong-buy” rating and set a $13.00 price objective (down from $15.00) on shares of Ardelyx in a research report on Friday, February 21st. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald upgraded shares of Ardelyx to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 4th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Ardelyx presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $10.61.

Ardelyx Price Performance

The stock has a market cap of $1.05 billion, a PE ratio of -27.49 and a beta of 0.81. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.87, a quick ratio of 4.31 and a current ratio of 4.58. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $5.36 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $5.47.

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

Insider Buying and Selling at Ardelyx

In related news, insider Laura A. Williams sold 4,941 shares of Ardelyx stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $5.62, for a total transaction of $27,768.42. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 303,804 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,707,378.48. This trade represents a 1.60 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director David M. Mott bought 199,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 21st. The stock was acquired at an average price of $4.99 per share, for a total transaction of $993,010.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now directly owns 1,937,765 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,669,447.35. The trade was a 11.44 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders sold 158,076 shares of company stock valued at $853,804 in the last quarter. 5.90% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Ardelyx

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in ARDX. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Ardelyx by 2.1% in the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,938,778 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $13,358,000 after buying an additional 40,702 shares during the period. BNP Paribas Financial Markets increased its stake in Ardelyx by 274.3% in the 3rd quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 181,387 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $1,250,000 after purchasing an additional 132,928 shares during the period. State Street Corp lifted its position in Ardelyx by 1.5% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 12,141,850 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $83,657,000 after purchasing an additional 176,789 shares during the last quarter. Barclays PLC boosted its stake in shares of Ardelyx by 24.9% during the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 547,325 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $3,770,000 after purchasing an additional 109,285 shares during the period. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Ardelyx by 0.3% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 5,487,742 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $37,818,000 after purchasing an additional 17,296 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 58.92% of the company’s stock.

About Ardelyx

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.