Ardelyx (NASDAQ:ARDX) Shares Gap Down – What’s Next?

Ardelyx, Inc. (NASDAQ:ARDX) shares gapped down before the market opened on Thursday . The stock had previously closed at $6.36, but opened at $5.70. Ardelyx shares last traded at $5.63, with a volume of 1,952,513 shares changing hands.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Jefferies Financial Group cut their price target on Ardelyx from $11.00 to $8.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 2nd. Citigroup cut their price target on Ardelyx from $12.00 to $10.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, November 4th. Piper Sandler upped their price objective on Ardelyx from $7.00 to $8.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, January 27th. HC Wainwright reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $5.50 price objective on shares of Ardelyx in a report on Friday. Finally, Raymond James reiterated a “strong-buy” rating and issued a $13.00 price objective (down previously from $15.00) on shares of Ardelyx in a report on Friday. 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. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $9.93.

Ardelyx Stock Performance

The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $5.30 and a 200 day simple moving average of $5.64. 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 stock has a market cap of $1.20 billion, a P/E ratio of -31.59 and a beta of 0.85.

Ardelyx (NASDAQ:ARDX) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 20th. The biopharmaceutical company reported $0.02 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $0.02. Ardelyx had a negative return on equity of 25.74% and a negative net margin of 11.73%. The company had revenue of $116.13 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $111.16 million. On average, equities analysts expect that Ardelyx, Inc. will post -0.18 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity at Ardelyx

In related news, Director David M. Mott bought 213,300 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 19th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $4.67 per share, with a total value of $996,111.00. Following the acquisition, the director now owns 1,638,765 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,653,032.55. This represents a 14.96 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Laura A. Williams sold 4,941 shares of Ardelyx stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $5.62, for a total value of $27,768.42. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 303,804 shares in the company, valued at $1,707,378.48. The trade was a 1.60 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 166,408 shares of company stock valued at $896,463 in the last 90 days. 5.90% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. CWM LLC lifted its stake in shares of Ardelyx by 328.1% in the 3rd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 12,814 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $88,000 after purchasing an additional 9,821 shares during the period. Values First Advisors Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Ardelyx by 14.6% in the 3rd quarter. Values First Advisors Inc. now owns 46,282 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $319,000 after purchasing an additional 5,890 shares during the period. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC lifted its stake in shares of Ardelyx by 34.3% in the 3rd quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 28,365 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $195,000 after purchasing an additional 7,245 shares during the period. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. lifted its stake in shares of Ardelyx by 64.7% in the 3rd quarter. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 45,280 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $312,000 after purchasing an additional 17,792 shares during the period. Finally, Tyler Stone Wealth Management lifted its stake in shares of Ardelyx by 87.0% in the 3rd quarter. Tyler Stone Wealth Management now owns 96,850 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $667,000 after purchasing an additional 45,055 shares during the period. 58.92% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.