John Bishop Sells 3,179 Shares of Ardelyx (NASDAQ:ARDX) Stock

Ardelyx, Inc. (NASDAQ:ARDX) insider John Bishop sold 3,179 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $5.85, for a total value of $18,597.15. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 339,151 shares in the company, valued at $1,984,033.35. This trade represents a 0.93% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link.

Ardelyx Trading Up 14.1%

Shares of ARDX opened at $6.56 on Wednesday. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $6.77 and its 200-day moving average price is $6.14. Ardelyx, Inc. has a twelve month low of $3.21 and a twelve month high of $8.40. The stock has a market cap of $1.61 billion, a PE ratio of -26.24 and a beta of 0.57. The company has a quick ratio of 4.11, a current ratio of 4.31 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21.

Ardelyx (NASDAQ:ARDX) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 19th. The biopharmaceutical company reported ($0.01) EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.02 by ($0.03). The firm had revenue of $125.22 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $118.04 million. Ardelyx had a negative net margin of 15.12% and a negative return on equity of 40.63%. Ardelyx’s revenue was up 7.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.02 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts forecast that Ardelyx, Inc. will post -0.18 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ardelyx News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting Ardelyx this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Director David M. Mott bought 333,333 shares (~$1.95M) at about $5.84, increasing his stake ~11.2% — a strong insider vote of confidence that can support the stock. Read More.
• Positive Sentiment: Ardelyx announced a multi‑year partnership with the LPGA to raise awareness and reduce stigma around digestive health — a marketing push that could help commercial uptake of XPHOZAH/brand awareness over time. Read More.
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst support remains strong — Wedbush reaffirmed an outperform with a $19 target and other firms (BTIG, HC Wainwright, Jefferies, Citi) have reiterated buys or raised targets, which can attract buyers. Read More. Read More.
• Neutral Sentiment: Quarterly revenue beat estimates ($125.2M vs. $118.0M) and revenue grew ~7.8% y/y — constructive fundamental data but partially offset by the EPS miss.
• Neutral Sentiment: Post‑results commentary includes valuation and guidance analysis (coverage piece on Yahoo Finance reviewing 2025 results and 2026 guidance) — useful for longer‑term investors assessing upside vs. risk. Read More.
• Negative Sentiment: Ardelyx missed EPS expectations (reported a small loss vs. a modest expected profit), which triggered a post‑earnings pullback and adds short‑term risk for the shares. Read More.
• Negative Sentiment: Multiple insiders (including CEO Michael Raab, CFO Susan Hohenleitner and several executives) sold shares around Feb. 20 (CEO sold ~45,982 shares), which can be perceived as profit‑taking and may pressure sentiment despite the director buy. Read More.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV lifted its holdings in shares of Ardelyx by 4.7% in the 4th quarter. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV now owns 38,512 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $225,000 after acquiring an additional 1,722 shares during the last quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. grew its holdings in shares of Ardelyx by 26.7% during the 4th quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 11,807 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $69,000 after purchasing an additional 2,491 shares during the last quarter. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH raised its position in Ardelyx by 0.7% in the 4th quarter. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH now owns 347,609 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $2,027,000 after purchasing an additional 2,532 shares during the period. Merit Financial Group LLC lifted its stake in Ardelyx by 12.0% in the third quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC now owns 23,680 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $130,000 after purchasing an additional 2,537 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Brighton Jones LLC boosted its position in Ardelyx by 25.1% during the third quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 12,701 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $70,000 after buying an additional 2,550 shares during the period. 58.92% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on ARDX. BTIG Research reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $17.00 price objective on shares of Ardelyx in a research report on Friday, February 20th. Citigroup raised their price target on Ardelyx from $11.00 to $14.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 9th. Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $15.00 price target on shares of Ardelyx in a research report on Tuesday, January 27th. Wedbush reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $19.00 price objective on shares of Ardelyx in a report on Monday. Finally, TD Cowen reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Ardelyx in a research note on Thursday, January 29th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have issued a Buy rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $15.09.

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.