Ardelyx (NASDAQ:ARDX) Shares Up 6.7% Following Strong Earnings

Ardelyx, Inc. (NASDAQ:ARDX) traded up 6.7% during mid-day trading on Friday following a better than expected earnings announcement. The company traded as high as $6.00 and last traded at $5.87. 1,747,105 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 69% from the average session volume of 5,554,690 shares. The stock had previously closed at $5.50.

The biopharmaceutical company reported ($0.07) EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.10) by $0.03. Ardelyx had a negative net margin of 41.36% and a negative return on equity of 41.65%. The business had revenue of $73.20 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $55.03 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted ($0.08) EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 228.3% compared to the same quarter last year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

ARDX has been the topic of several recent research reports. Wedbush reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $11.00 target price on shares of Ardelyx in a research report on Friday. Leerink Partnrs reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of Ardelyx in a research report on Friday, April 5th. HC Wainwright reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $10.00 target price on shares of Ardelyx in a report on Thursday, July 18th. 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 target on the stock. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded shares of Ardelyx from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Ardelyx has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $10.69.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Ardelyx news, CEO Michael Raab sold 30,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $5.64, for a total transaction of $169,200.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 1,260,463 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,109,011.32. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In related news, insider Robert Ora Felsch sold 207,988 shares of Ardelyx stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $8.81, for a total transaction of $1,832,374.28. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 95,947 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $845,293.07. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Michael Raab sold 30,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $5.64, for a total value of $169,200.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 1,260,463 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,109,011.32. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 494,170 shares of company stock worth $3,752,676 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 5.50% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Ardelyx

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Ardelyx by 1,026.3% during the second quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 3,548 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 3,233 shares during the last quarter. HighMark Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Ardelyx during the 1st quarter valued at about $36,000. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Ardelyx in the 1st quarter valued at about $64,000. Jump Financial LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Ardelyx in the fourth quarter worth about $63,000. Finally, Paloma Partners Management Co acquired a new stake in Ardelyx during the first quarter worth about $86,000. 58.92% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Ardelyx Stock Performance

The stock has a market capitalization of $1.37 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -20.18 and a beta of 0.83. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $6.12 and a 200 day moving average of $7.43. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66, a current ratio of 4.53 and a quick ratio of 4.36.

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.