Ardelyx, Inc. (NASDAQ:ARDX) CEO Sells $129,057.68 in Stock

Ardelyx, Inc. (NASDAQ:ARDX) CEO Michael Raab sold 22,964 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $5.62, for a total transaction of $129,057.68. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,085,755 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,101,943.10. The trade was a 2.07 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link.

Michael Raab also recently made the following trade(s):

• On Friday, January 31st, Michael Raab sold 41,666 shares of Ardelyx stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $5.36, for a total transaction of $223,329.76.
• On Tuesday, January 7th, Michael Raab sold 41,666 shares of Ardelyx stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $5.31, for a total transaction of $221,246.46.
• On Tuesday, December 10th, Michael Raab sold 25,000 shares of Ardelyx stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $5.26, for a total transaction of $131,500.00.
• On Monday, November 25th, Michael Raab sold 25,000 shares of Ardelyx stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $5.38, for a total transaction of $134,500.00.

Ardelyx Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ ARDX opened at $5.06 on Monday. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.20 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -31.59 and a beta of 0.85. Ardelyx, Inc. has a 12 month low of $4.32 and a 12 month high of $9.83. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $5.30 and its 200-day simple moving average is $5.63. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64, a current ratio of 4.03 and a quick ratio of 3.87.

Ardelyx (NASDAQ:ARDX) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 20th. The biopharmaceutical company reported $0.02 EPS for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.02. The business had revenue of $116.13 million for 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 25.74%. Analysts expect that Ardelyx, Inc. will post -0.18 EPS for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

ARDX has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Raymond James reaffirmed a “strong-buy” rating and issued a $13.00 price objective (down from $15.00) on shares of Ardelyx in a research report on Friday. Jefferies Financial Group decreased their price objective on shares of Ardelyx from $11.00 to $8.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, January 2nd. Cantor Fitzgerald raised shares of Ardelyx to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. HC Wainwright reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $5.50 price target on shares of Ardelyx in a report on Friday. Finally, Citigroup cut their price target on shares of Ardelyx from $12.00 to $10.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, November 4th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $9.93.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Ardelyx

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. GF Fund Management CO. LTD. purchased a new position in shares of Ardelyx during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Ardelyx during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $35,000. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. purchased a new position in Ardelyx in the 4th quarter valued at $41,000. Quarry LP purchased a new position in Ardelyx in the 4th quarter valued at $51,000. Finally, Rehmann Capital Advisory Group purchased a new position in Ardelyx in the 4th quarter valued at $51,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.