Insider Selling: Ardelyx, Inc. (NASDAQ:ARDX) CEO Sells 22,964 Shares of Stock

Ardelyx, Inc. (NASDAQ:ARDX) CEO Michael Raab sold 22,964 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $5.62, for a total transaction of $129,057.68. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,085,755 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,101,943.10. The trade was a 2.07 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link.

Michael Raab also recently made the following trade(s):

• On Friday, January 31st, Michael Raab sold 41,666 shares of Ardelyx stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $5.36, for a total transaction of $223,329.76.
• On Tuesday, January 7th, Michael Raab sold 41,666 shares of Ardelyx stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $5.31, for a total transaction of $221,246.46.
• On Tuesday, December 10th, Michael Raab sold 25,000 shares of Ardelyx stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $5.26, for a total transaction of $131,500.00.
• On Monday, November 25th, Michael Raab sold 25,000 shares of Ardelyx stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $5.38, for a total transaction of $134,500.00.

Ardelyx Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:ARDX traded down $0.67 on Friday, reaching $5.06. 6,744,975 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 4,432,597. The company has a fifty day moving average of $5.30 and a 200-day moving average of $5.64. Ardelyx, Inc. has a twelve month low of $4.32 and a twelve month high of $9.83. The company has a market capitalization of $1.20 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -16.85 and a beta of 0.85. The company has a current ratio of 4.03, a quick ratio of 3.87 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64.

Ardelyx (NASDAQ:ARDX) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, February 20th. The biopharmaceutical company reported $0.02 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.02. Ardelyx had a negative net margin of 28.82% and a negative return on equity of 46.60%. The firm had revenue of $116.13 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $111.16 million. On average, research analysts predict that Ardelyx, Inc. will post -0.17 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages recently commented on ARDX. Raymond James reiterated a “strong-buy” rating and issued a $13.00 price target (down previously from $15.00) on shares of Ardelyx in a research note on Friday. Cantor Fitzgerald upgraded shares of Ardelyx to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Piper Sandler upped their price target on shares of Ardelyx from $7.00 to $8.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Citigroup decreased their price target on shares of Ardelyx from $12.00 to $10.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, November 4th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group decreased their price target on shares of Ardelyx from $11.00 to $8.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 2nd. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $9.93.

Institutional Trading of Ardelyx

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in ARDX. GF Fund Management CO. LTD. acquired a new stake in shares of Ardelyx during the 4th quarter worth approximately $25,000. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Ardelyx during the 4th quarter worth approximately $35,000. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. acquired a new stake in shares of Ardelyx during the 4th quarter worth approximately $41,000. Quarry LP acquired a new stake in shares of Ardelyx during the 4th quarter worth approximately $51,000. Finally, Rehmann Capital Advisory Group acquired a new stake in shares of Ardelyx during the 4th quarter worth approximately $51,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.