Ardelyx, Inc. (NASDAQ:ARDX) CFO Justin A. Renz Sells 5,171 Shares of Stock

Ardelyx, Inc. (NASDAQ:ARDX) CFO Justin A. Renz sold 5,171 shares of Ardelyx stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $5.62, for a total transaction of $29,061.02. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 285,968 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,607,140.16. This trade represents a 1.78 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink.

Ardelyx Trading Down 11.6 %

NASDAQ:ARDX opened at $5.06 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 4.03, a quick ratio of 3.87 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $5.30 and a 200-day moving average price of $5.64. The stock has a market cap of $1.20 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -16.85 and a beta of 0.85. Ardelyx, Inc. has a 12 month low of $4.32 and a 12 month high of $9.83.

Ardelyx (NASDAQ:ARDX) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 20th. The biopharmaceutical company reported $0.02 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate 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 net margin of 28.82% and a negative return on equity of 46.60%. Equities analysts predict that Ardelyx, Inc. will post -0.17 EPS for the current year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have weighed in on ARDX. Raymond James reaffirmed a “strong-buy” rating and issued a $13.00 price target (down from $15.00) on shares of Ardelyx in a research note on Friday. Citigroup decreased their price target on shares of Ardelyx from $12.00 to $10.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, November 4th. HC Wainwright reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $5.50 target price on shares of Ardelyx in a research report on Friday. Jefferies Financial Group decreased their target price 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. Finally, Piper Sandler boosted their target price on shares of Ardelyx from $7.00 to $8.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Three 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 stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $9.93.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Ensign Peak Advisors Inc raised its holdings in shares of Ardelyx by 3.1% during the fourth quarter. Ensign Peak Advisors Inc now owns 73,950 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $375,000 after purchasing an additional 2,200 shares during the last quarter. B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Ardelyx by 3.4% during the third quarter. B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 90,000 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $599,000 after purchasing an additional 3,000 shares during the last quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. raised its holdings in shares of Ardelyx by 2.3% during the fourth quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 154,625 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $788,000 after purchasing an additional 3,550 shares during the last quarter. Swiss National Bank raised its holdings in shares of Ardelyx by 1.0% during the fourth quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 463,100 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $2,348,000 after purchasing an additional 4,800 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC grew its position in Ardelyx by 42.7% during the fourth quarter. Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC now owns 16,486 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $84,000 after buying an additional 4,933 shares during the period. 58.92% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.