Ardelyx (NASDAQ:ARDX) Trading 6.7% Higher on Earnings Beat

Ardelyx, Inc. (NASDAQ:ARDX) shares were 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. Approximately 1,747,105 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 69% from the average daily volume of 5,554,690 shares. The stock had previously closed at $5.50.

The biopharmaceutical company reported ($0.07) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.10) by $0.03. The company had revenue of $73.20 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $55.03 million. Ardelyx had a negative net margin of 41.36% and a negative return on equity of 41.65%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 228.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned ($0.08) EPS.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on ARDX shares. HC Wainwright restated a “buy” rating and issued a $10.00 price target on shares of Ardelyx in a research report on Thursday, July 18th. Citigroup dropped their target price on shares of Ardelyx from $14.00 to $10.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, July 3rd. SVB Leerink began 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. Cantor Fitzgerald reissued an “overweight” rating on shares of Ardelyx in a research note on Thursday, June 20th. Finally, Wedbush restated an “outperform” rating and set a $11.00 price objective on shares of Ardelyx in a research report on Friday. 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.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $10.69.

Insider Activity

In other Ardelyx news, insider Robert Ora Felsch sold 207,988 shares of the stock in a transaction on 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 transaction, the insider now owns 95,947 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $845,293.07. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In other Ardelyx 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 value of $1,832,374.28. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 95,947 shares in the company, valued at approximately $845,293.07. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Laura A. Williams sold 145,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, June 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $7.12, for a total transaction of $1,032,400.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 322,152 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,293,722.24. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 494,170 shares of company stock valued at $3,752,676 over the last 90 days. Insiders own 5.50% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in ARDX. Rubric Capital Management LP lifted its position in shares of Ardelyx by 60.5% during the fourth quarter. Rubric Capital Management LP now owns 4,012,753 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $24,879,000 after purchasing an additional 1,512,753 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Ardelyx by 0.9% during the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 11,565,800 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $47,188,000 after buying an additional 97,951 shares during the last quarter. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Ardelyx by 37.2% in the 1st quarter. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. now owns 438,827 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $3,203,000 after acquiring an additional 118,879 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Ardelyx by 9.0% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,816,732 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $11,264,000 after acquiring an additional 150,465 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Russell Investments Group Ltd. lifted its stake in Ardelyx by 100.7% during the first quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 536,297 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $3,915,000 after purchasing an additional 269,046 shares during the last quarter. 58.92% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Ardelyx Trading Up 6.7 %

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66, a current ratio of 4.53 and a quick ratio of 4.36. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $6.12 and its 200 day simple moving average is $7.43. The stock has a market cap of $1.37 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -20.18 and a beta of 0.83.

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.