Ardelyx (NASDAQ:ARDX) Trading Up 7.4% – What’s Next?

Ardelyx, Inc. (NASDAQ:ARDX) shares were up 7.4% during mid-day trading on Monday . The company traded as high as $7.34 and last traded at $7.3870. Approximately 4,848,212 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, an increase of 9% from the average daily volume of 4,456,997 shares. The stock had previously closed at $6.88.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have issued reports on ARDX shares. Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $15.00 target price on shares of Ardelyx in a research note on Tuesday, January 27th. Piper Sandler raised Ardelyx from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and raised their target price for the stock from $10.00 to $16.00 in a research note on Thursday, January 8th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Ardelyx in a research note on Monday, April 20th. Leerink Partners reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of Ardelyx in a research note on Thursday, March 12th. Finally, BTIG Research reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $17.00 price target on shares of Ardelyx in a report on Friday, February 20th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have given a Buy rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Ardelyx has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $15.70.

Ardelyx Trading Up 6.1%

The firm has a market capitalization of $1.79 billion, a PE ratio of -31.74 and a beta of 0.62. The company has a current ratio of 3.49, a quick ratio of 3.28 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.37. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $6.02 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $6.16.

Ardelyx (NASDAQ:ARDX) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The biopharmaceutical company reported ($0.15) earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.13) by ($0.02). The business had revenue of $94.47 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $92.78 million. Ardelyx had a negative return on equity of 38.11% and a negative net margin of 13.58%.The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 27.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted ($0.17) earnings per share.

Insider Buying and Selling at Ardelyx

In related news, CEO Michael Raab sold 45,982 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $5.85, for a total transaction of $268,994.70. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 1,856,986 shares in the company, valued at $10,863,368.10. This trade represents a 2.42% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, insider Laura A. Williams sold 8,176 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $5.85, for a total value of $47,829.60. Following the transaction, the insider owned 436,082 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,551,079.70. This trade represents a 1.84% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last quarter, insiders sold 128,604 shares of company stock worth $751,917. Insiders own 4.80% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Ardelyx

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV boosted its holdings in Ardelyx by 4.7% during the 4th quarter. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV now owns 38,512 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $225,000 after acquiring an additional 1,722 shares during the period. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. boosted its holdings in Ardelyx by 26.7% during the 4th quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 11,807 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $69,000 after acquiring an additional 2,491 shares during the period. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH boosted its holdings in Ardelyx by 0.7% during the 4th quarter. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH now owns 347,609 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $2,027,000 after acquiring an additional 2,532 shares during the period. Merit Financial Group LLC boosted its holdings in Ardelyx by 12.0% during the 3rd quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC now owns 23,680 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $130,000 after acquiring an additional 2,537 shares during the period. Finally, Cerity Partners LLC boosted its holdings in Ardelyx by 5.3% during the 4th quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 59,359 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $346,000 after acquiring an additional 2,972 shares during the period. 58.92% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other 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.