Ardelyx (NASDAQ:ARDX) Trading Up 13% – Here’s What Happened

Ardelyx, Inc. (NASDAQ:ARDX) shares shot up 13% during mid-day trading on Friday . The stock traded as high as $4.04 and last traded at $3.82. 2,899,398 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 41% from the average session volume of 4,886,484 shares. The stock had previously closed at $3.38.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on ARDX. Citigroup reduced their price target on shares of Ardelyx from $11.00 to $10.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, May 2nd. BTIG Research began coverage on shares of Ardelyx in a report on Tuesday, March 4th. They set a “buy” rating and a $14.00 price target for the company. Raymond James downgraded shares of Ardelyx from a “strong-buy” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $11.00 price target for the company. in a report on Friday, May 2nd. Scotiabank began coverage on shares of Ardelyx in a report on Friday, March 7th. They set a “sector outperform” rating and a $15.00 price target for the company. Finally, Piper Sandler raised shares of Ardelyx to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 12th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Ardelyx has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $10.39.

Ardelyx Trading Up 14.8%

The business’s 50 day moving average is $4.67 and its two-hundred day moving average is $5.09. The company has a quick ratio of 4.31, a current ratio of 4.58 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.87. The firm has a market capitalization of $928.31 million, a P/E ratio of -24.25 and a beta of 0.76.

Ardelyx (NASDAQ:ARDX) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 1st. The biopharmaceutical company reported ($0.17) earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.10) by ($0.07). Ardelyx had a negative net margin of 11.73% and a negative return on equity of 24.87%. The company had revenue of $74.11 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $79.40 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned ($0.11) earnings per share. Ardelyx’s revenue for the quarter was up 61.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts expect that Ardelyx, Inc. will post -0.18 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity at Ardelyx

In other Ardelyx news, insider Laura A. Williams sold 4,941 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 directly owns 303,804 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,707,378.48. The trade was a 1.60% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director David M. Mott purchased 381,377 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, May 2nd. The stock was acquired at an average price of $4.22 per share, for a total transaction of $1,609,410.94. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 2,396,871 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $10,114,795.62. This represents a 18.92% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 158,076 shares of company stock worth $777,555 over the last ninety days. 4.80% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Ardelyx

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of ARDX. Millennium Management LLC raised its position in Ardelyx by 118.2% in the first quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 6,465,262 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $31,744,000 after acquiring an additional 3,501,782 shares in the last quarter. Nuveen LLC acquired a new stake in Ardelyx during the 1st quarter worth about $16,735,000. Janus Henderson Group PLC raised its holdings in Ardelyx by 13.3% during the 4th quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 24,387,941 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $123,587,000 after buying an additional 2,858,061 shares during the period. Two Seas Capital LP acquired a new stake in Ardelyx during the 4th quarter worth about $9,407,000. Finally, Rock Springs Capital Management LP acquired a new stake in Ardelyx during the 4th quarter worth about $7,421,000. 58.92% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.