Ardelyx (NASDAQ:ARDX) Shares Gap Up to $5.28

Ardelyx, Inc. (NASDAQ:ARDX)’s share price gapped up before the market opened on Wednesday . The stock had previously closed at $5.28, but opened at $5.53. Ardelyx shares last traded at $5.16, with a volume of 2,389,711 shares.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have commented on the stock. SVB Leerink assumed coverage on shares of Ardelyx in a report on Friday, April 5th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $14.00 price objective for the company. Wedbush restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $15.00 price objective on shares of Ardelyx in a report on Friday, May 24th. Piper Sandler lowered shares of Ardelyx from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and lowered their price objective for the stock from $15.00 to $7.00 in a report on Tuesday. Cantor Fitzgerald restated an “overweight” rating on shares of Ardelyx in a report on Thursday, June 20th. Finally, Leerink Partnrs restated an “outperform” rating on shares of Ardelyx in a report on Friday, April 5th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has given a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $11.31.

Ardelyx Stock Up 0.8 %

The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $6.95 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $7.61. The firm has a market cap of $1.24 billion, a P/E ratio of -19.00 and a beta of 0.83. 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 announced 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. Ardelyx had a negative net margin of 41.36% and a negative return on equity of 41.65%. The business had revenue of $46.00 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $36.40 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned ($0.13) earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 303.5% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts forecast that Ardelyx, Inc. will post -0.36 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity at Ardelyx

In related news, insider David P. Rosenbaum sold 17,872 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $7.00, for a total transaction of $125,104.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 158,502 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,109,514. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In other Ardelyx news, CEO Michael Raab sold 7,500 shares of Ardelyx stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $7.06, for a total value of $52,950.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 1,310,933 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,255,186.98. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider David P. Rosenbaum sold 17,872 shares of Ardelyx stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $7.00, for a total transaction of $125,104.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 158,502 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,109,514. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 534,119 shares of company stock valued at $4,117,225 over the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 5.50% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Ardelyx

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in ARDX. Farallon Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Ardelyx during the 1st quarter worth $168,000. Virtu Financial LLC purchased a new position in shares of Ardelyx during the 1st quarter worth $220,000. Castleark Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Ardelyx during the 1st quarter worth $1,571,000. Bayesian Capital Management LP purchased a new position in shares of Ardelyx during the 1st quarter worth $657,000. Finally, Redmile Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of Ardelyx during the 1st quarter worth $16,020,000. Institutional investors own 58.92% of the company’s stock.

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.