Ardelyx (NASDAQ:ARDX) Stock Price Up 6.3%

Ardelyx, Inc. (NASDAQ:ARDX)’s share price rose 6.3% during mid-day trading on Friday . The stock traded as high as $6.80 and last traded at $6.76. Approximately 1,361,525 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 73% from the average daily volume of 5,048,655 shares. The stock had previously closed at $6.36.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

ARDX has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. StockNews.com upgraded Ardelyx from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. Citigroup increased their price target on Ardelyx from $10.00 to $12.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, August 2nd. Cantor Fitzgerald restated an “overweight” rating on shares of Ardelyx in a report on Thursday, June 20th. HC Wainwright increased their price objective on Ardelyx from $10.00 to $11.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, August 5th. Finally, Piper Sandler downgraded Ardelyx from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and decreased their price objective for the stock from $15.00 to $7.00 in a report on Tuesday, July 2nd. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $11.67.

Ardelyx Stock Performance

The stock has a fifty day moving average of $5.93 and a 200-day moving average of $6.58. The company has a quick ratio of 3.99, a current ratio of 4.21 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.55 billion, a P/E ratio of -23.75 and a beta of 0.90.

Ardelyx (NASDAQ:ARDX) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The biopharmaceutical company reported ($0.07) EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.11) by $0.04. Ardelyx had a negative return on equity of 39.73% and a negative net margin of 31.02%. The firm had revenue of $73.20 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $55.03 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted ($0.08) earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 228.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts anticipate that Ardelyx, Inc. will post -0.26 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity at Ardelyx

In related news, CEO Michael Raab sold 7,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $5.97, for a total transaction of $44,775.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,260,463 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,524,964.11. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other news, CEO Michael Raab sold 7,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $5.97, for a total value of $44,775.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,260,463 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,524,964.11. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CFO Justin A. Renz sold 5,289 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $5.86, for a total value of $30,993.54. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 295,257 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,730,206.02. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 167,562 shares of company stock valued at $977,130. Insiders own 5.50% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Ardelyx

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Ardelyx in the second quarter valued at approximately $645,000. Coastal Bridge Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Ardelyx in the second quarter valued at approximately $74,000. Creative Planning lifted its position in shares of Ardelyx by 90.0% in the second quarter. Creative Planning now owns 40,417 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $299,000 after buying an additional 19,140 shares during the last quarter. Algert Global LLC bought a new position in shares of Ardelyx during the second quarter worth approximately $174,000. Finally, Millennium Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Ardelyx by 142.8% during the second quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 3,203,090 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $23,735,000 after purchasing an additional 1,883,995 shares during the period. 58.92% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.