Ardelyx shares soared 22% in Friday’s premarket session after the company raised guidance for its irritable bowel syndrome drug Ibsrela, which saw the highest demand in the third quarter (Q3).
“IBSRELA continues to outperform and is the foundation of our portfolio and the main engine for Ardelyx's future growth,” CEO Mike Raab said on the company’s earnings call on Thursday.
“Demand growth is broad-based and demonstrates how vital this therapy is for patients. We expect this momentum to continue through Q4 and beyond, and as a result, we are raising our guidance,” he added.
The company now expects revenue to be between $270 million and $ 275 million from Ibsrela for the full year. In the third quarter, the drug generated revenue of $78.2 million, marking a growth of 92%, and accounting for 74% of the company’s total product revenue for the period.
U.S. revenue for Xphozah, used to reduce serum phosphorus in adults with chronic kidney disease (CKD) on dialysis, was $27.4 million in Q3 despite dynamic market situations, the company said. Ardelyx now expects continued growth in the fourth quarter for the drug.
Total revenue in the quarter, including product and licensing revenue, came in at $110.3 million, above an analyst estimate of $100.54 million. Net loss in the quarter was $1 million, slightly wider than the $0.8 million net loss reported in the corresponding quarter of 2024.
In the third quarter, Ardelyx began developing RDX10531, an early-stage drug candidate. The company is now looking forward to filing an Investigational New Drug submission with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for the candidate in 2026, to initiate trials in humans.
“We are committed to building a broad, sustainable pipeline, capitalizing first on an internal asset while, in parallel, we explore external opportunities,” Raab said.
On Stocktwits, retail sentiment around ARDX stock jumped from ‘bullish’ to ‘extremely bullish’ territory over the past 24 hours, while message volume rose from ‘normal’ to ‘extremely high’ levels.
A Stocktwits user sees the stock hitting a per-share price of $7 today.
Another expressed optimism about the CEO saying on the earnings call that it is open to external business opportunities.
ARDX stock is down 1% year-to-date and by approximately 15% over the past 12 months.
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