Ardelyx (NASDAQ:ARDX) Shares Down 2.9% – Time to Sell?

Ardelyx, Inc. (NASDAQ:ARDX) shares fell 2.9% during trading on Wednesday . The stock traded as low as $5.14 and last traded at $5.17. 1,123,619 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 74% from the average session volume of 4,307,325 shares. The stock had previously closed at $5.32.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

ARDX has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH restated a “buy” rating and set a $11.00 target price on shares of Ardelyx in a research report on Friday, March 7th. Scotiabank initiated coverage on Ardelyx in a research report on Friday, March 7th. They set a “sector outperform” rating and a $15.00 target price for the company. HC Wainwright restated a “neutral” rating and set a $5.50 target price on shares of Ardelyx in a research report on Friday, February 21st. Piper Sandler upgraded Ardelyx to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 12th. Finally, Raymond James restated a “strong-buy” rating and set a $13.00 target price (down previously from $15.00) on shares of Ardelyx in a research report on Friday, February 21st. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $10.95.

Ardelyx Stock Performance

The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $5.43 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $5.55. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.87, a current ratio of 4.58 and a quick ratio of 4.31. The company has a market cap of $1.20 billion, a PE ratio of -32.39 and a beta of 0.87.

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 analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.02. The company had revenue of $116.13 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $111.16 million. Ardelyx had a negative return on equity of 24.87% and a negative net margin of 11.73%. Research analysts anticipate that Ardelyx, Inc. will post -0.18 earnings per share for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Michael Raab sold 41,668 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, March 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $5.36, for a total transaction of $223,340.48. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 1,635,138 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,764,339.68. This represents a 2.48 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Laura A. Williams sold 4,941 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $5.62, for a total value of $27,768.42. Following the sale, the insider now owns 303,804 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,707,378.48. This represents a 1.60 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 158,076 shares of company stock worth $853,804 over the last 90 days. Company insiders own 5.90% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Ardelyx

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