Ardelyx (NASDAQ:ARDX) Shares Gap Up on Earnings Beat

Shares of Ardelyx, Inc. (NASDAQ:ARDX) gapped up before the market opened on Friday following a better than expected earnings announcement. The stock had previously closed at $6.79, but opened at $8.36. Ardelyx shares last traded at $8.45, with a volume of 8,785,366 shares changing hands.

The biopharmaceutical company reported ($0.11) EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.13) by $0.02. Ardelyx had a negative net margin of 41.36% and a negative return on equity of 41.03%. The company had revenue of $46.00 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $36.40 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned ($0.13) earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 303.5% on a year-over-year basis.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts recently commented on the stock. Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an “overweight” rating on shares of Ardelyx in a research note on Friday, January 12th. Raymond James boosted their price objective on shares of Ardelyx from $12.00 to $15.00 and gave the company a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 9th. Piper Sandler boosted their price objective on shares of Ardelyx from $12.00 to $15.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, February 23rd. Wedbush boosted their price objective on shares of Ardelyx from $14.00 to $15.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday. Finally, Leerink Partnrs reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Ardelyx in a research report on Friday, April 5th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $12.81.

Insider Transactions at Ardelyx

In other news, CEO Michael Raab sold 30,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $6.40, for a total value of $192,000.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,310,933 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,389,971.20. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. In other news, CEO Michael Raab sold 30,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $6.40, for a total value of $192,000.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,310,933 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,389,971.20. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Elizabeth A. Grammer sold 86,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $7.73, for a total transaction of $664,780.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 312,993 shares in the company, valued at $2,419,435.89. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 178,820 shares of company stock valued at $1,400,524 in the last three months. 5.50% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Ardelyx

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. HighMark Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Ardelyx in the 1st quarter worth about $36,000. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. bought a new position in Ardelyx in the 1st quarter worth about $64,000. Willis Johnson & Associates Inc. bought a new position in Ardelyx in the 3rd quarter worth about $41,000. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. bought a new position in Ardelyx in the 4th quarter worth about $62,000. Finally, Jump Financial LLC bought a new position in Ardelyx during the 4th quarter valued at about $63,000. 58.92% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Ardelyx Stock Up 28.4 %

The company has a current ratio of 4.88, a quick ratio of 4.64 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30. The firm has a market cap of $2.04 billion, a P/E ratio of -31.14 and a beta of 0.87. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $7.67 and its 200-day simple moving average is $6.81.

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.