Ardelyx (NASDAQ:ARDX) Shares Up 10.2% – What’s Next?

Ardelyx, Inc. (NASDAQ:ARDX) shares shot up 10.2% during mid-day trading on Tuesday . The company traded as high as $7.47 and last traded at $7.4370. 1,651,326 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 77% from the average session volume of 7,261,544 shares. The stock had previously closed at $6.75.

Analyst Ratings Changes

ARDX has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Ardelyx in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Raymond James Financial restated a “strong-buy” rating and set a $19.00 price objective on shares of Ardelyx in a research report on Thursday, January 8th. Piper Sandler upgraded Ardelyx from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and upped their target price for the company from $10.00 to $16.00 in a report on Thursday, January 8th. Citigroup increased their price target on shares of Ardelyx from $11.00 to $14.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 9th. Finally, BTIG Research raised their price target on shares of Ardelyx from $14.00 to $17.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 9th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have given a Buy rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Ardelyx currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $14.30.

Ardelyx Stock Performance

The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $6.15 and a 200 day moving average price of $5.69. The company has a current ratio of 4.41, a quick ratio of 4.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.31. The firm has a market cap of $1.93 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -34.48 and a beta of 0.56.

Ardelyx (NASDAQ:ARDX) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, October 30th. The biopharmaceutical company reported $0.00 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.06) by $0.06. Ardelyx had a negative return on equity of 36.91% and a negative net margin of 14.20%.The firm had revenue of $110.33 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $100.44 million. The business’s revenue was up 14.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts predict that Ardelyx, Inc. will post -0.18 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Elizabeth A. Grammer sold 5,995 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $5.54, for a total transaction of $33,212.30. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 299,895 shares in the company, valued at $1,661,418.30. This represents a 1.96% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, insider Mike Kelliher sold 5,560 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $5.54, for a total value of $30,802.40. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 271,181 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,502,342.74. This represents a 2.01% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold a total of 114,868 shares of company stock valued at $708,369 in the last quarter. 4.80% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in Ardelyx by 14.6% in the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 18,369,321 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $101,215,000 after buying an additional 2,337,672 shares during the period. Marshall Wace LLP boosted its position in shares of Ardelyx by 34.2% during the 2nd quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 11,250,652 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $44,103,000 after acquiring an additional 2,866,843 shares in the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE increased its stake in Ardelyx by 88.8% in the second quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 5,527,988 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $21,670,000 after acquiring an additional 2,600,080 shares during the period. Two Sigma Investments LP raised its position in Ardelyx by 23.2% in the third quarter. Two Sigma Investments LP now owns 2,490,848 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $13,725,000 after purchasing an additional 469,385 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Goldman Sachs Group Inc. raised its position in Ardelyx by 10.3% in the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 2,378,738 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $11,680,000 after purchasing an additional 221,486 shares in the last quarter. 58.92% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

About Ardelyx

Ardelyx, Inc (NASDAQ: ARDX) is a clinical‐stage biopharmaceutical company focused on discovering, developing and commercializing targeted small molecule drugs for cardio‐renal and gastrointestinal diseases. The company’s lead marketed product, tenapanor (sold under the brand name XPHOZAH in the United States), is approved for the treatment of hyperphosphatemia in patients with chronic kidney disease on dialysis. Ardelyx’s proprietary approach targets epithelial transporters in the gastrointestinal tract, offering localized activity with limited systemic exposure.

Beyond tenapanor, Ardelyx’s development pipeline includes treatments designed to address other complications in kidney disease and related metabolic disorders.