Ardelyx (NASDAQ:ARDX) Stock Price Crosses Above Fifty Day Moving Average – Should You Sell?

Ardelyx, Inc. (NASDAQ:ARDX) passed above its fifty day moving average during trading on Wednesday . The stock has a fifty day moving average of $6.08 and traded as high as $6.41. Ardelyx shares last traded at $6.27, with a volume of 2,793,623 shares trading hands.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have issued reports on ARDX. Leerink Partners restated an “outperform” rating on shares of Ardelyx in a research report on Thursday, March 12th. Weiss Ratings restated a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Ardelyx in a research report on Monday, April 20th. HC Wainwright upped their price target on shares of Ardelyx from $10.00 to $18.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 20th. Jefferies Financial Group restated a “buy” rating and issued a $15.00 price target on shares of Ardelyx in a research report on Tuesday, January 27th. Finally, BTIG Research restated a “buy” rating and issued a $17.00 price target on shares of Ardelyx in a research report on Friday, February 20th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have issued a Buy rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $15.70.

Ardelyx Stock Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.37, a current ratio of 3.49 and a quick ratio of 3.28. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $6.08 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $6.28. The company has a market capitalization of $1.55 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -27.26 and a beta of 0.62.

Ardelyx (NASDAQ:ARDX) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 30th. The biopharmaceutical company reported ($0.15) earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.13) by ($0.02). Ardelyx had a negative return on equity of 38.11% and a negative net margin of 13.58%.The firm had revenue of $94.47 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $92.78 million. During the same quarter last year, the company earned ($0.17) earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 27.5% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Ardelyx, Inc. will post -0.05 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Ardelyx

In other news, insider Eric Duane Foster sold 10,439 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, February 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $5.85, for a total transaction of $61,068.15. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 425,970 shares in the company, valued at $2,491,924.50. This represents a 2.39% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Michael Raab sold 41,666 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, March 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $5.84, for a total transaction of $243,329.44. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 1,816,448 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,608,056.32. This trade represents a 2.24% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold a total of 128,604 shares of company stock valued at $751,917 over the last 90 days. 5.30% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of ARDX. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. boosted its stake in Ardelyx by 2.9% during the first quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 159,061 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $781,000 after acquiring an additional 4,436 shares in the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. boosted its stake in Ardelyx by 10.3% during the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 2,378,738 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $11,680,000 after acquiring an additional 221,486 shares in the last quarter. Focus Partners Wealth bought a new position in Ardelyx during the first quarter worth $72,000. Strs Ohio bought a new position in Ardelyx during the first quarter worth $135,000. Finally, Legal & General Group Plc boosted its stake in Ardelyx by 13.5% during the second quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 275,344 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $1,080,000 after acquiring an additional 32,738 shares in the last quarter. 58.92% of the stock is owned by 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.