Ardelyx, Inc. (NASDAQ:ARDX) Insider Robert Blanks Sells 38,000 Shares of Stock

Ardelyx, Inc. (NASDAQ:ARDX) insider Robert Blanks sold 38,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $5.96, for a total value of $226,480.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 324,331 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,933,012.76. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink.

Ardelyx Trading Down 3.7 %

Shares of Ardelyx stock opened at $6.02 on Wednesday. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $6.99 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $7.61. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.40 billion, a PE ratio of -21.50 and a beta of 0.79. Ardelyx, Inc. has a 52-week low of $3.16 and a 52-week high of $10.13. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66, a current ratio of 4.53 and a quick ratio of 4.36.

Ardelyx (NASDAQ:ARDX) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, May 2nd. The biopharmaceutical company reported ($0.11) earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.13) by $0.02. The business had revenue of $46.00 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $36.40 million. Ardelyx had a negative net margin of 41.36% and a negative return on equity of 41.65%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 303.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted ($0.13) earnings per share. On average, analysts expect that Ardelyx, Inc. will post -0.36 EPS for the current year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Ardelyx

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. HighMark Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Ardelyx in the 1st quarter valued at $36,000. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Ardelyx in the 1st quarter valued at $64,000. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Ardelyx in the 4th quarter valued at $62,000. Jump Financial LLC bought a new stake in shares of Ardelyx in the 4th quarter worth about $63,000. Finally, Paloma Partners Management Co acquired a new stake in shares of Ardelyx during the 1st quarter worth about $86,000. 58.92% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Leerink Partnrs restated an “outperform” rating on shares of Ardelyx in a report on Friday, April 5th. SVB Leerink assumed coverage on Ardelyx in a research report on Friday, April 5th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $14.00 price target on the stock. Citigroup boosted their price objective on Ardelyx from $13.00 to $14.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, May 3rd. Wedbush reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $15.00 target price on shares of Ardelyx in a report on Friday, May 24th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an “overweight” rating on shares of Ardelyx in a report on Thursday, June 20th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $12.81.

Ardelyx Company Profile

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.