Ardelyx, Inc. Reports Employment Inducement Grants

Rhea-AI Summary

Ardelyx (Nasdaq: ARDX), a biopharmaceutical company, announced on May 30, 2024, that its compensation committee granted stock options and Restricted Stock Units (RSUs) to 23 new non-executive employees on May 23, 2024. A total of 210,000 stock options and 179,050 RSUs were awarded. The options have an exercise price of $7.44 per share, reflecting the closing price on the grant date. Both stock options and RSUs vest over four years with specific vesting schedules. These grants were made under Nasdaq Listing Rule 5635(c)(4) to incentivize employment.

Positive

• Granted 210,000 stock options and 179,050 RSUs to attract new talent.
• Stock options have a 10-year term, providing long-term incentive.
• Grants reflect a stock price of $7.44, indicating recent market valuations.

Negative

• Dilution risk due to issuance of new stock options and RSUs.
• Vesting and exercise of options could pressure stock price down.

WALTHAM, Mass., May 30, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Ardelyx, Inc. (Nasdaq: ARDX), a biopharmaceutical company founded with a mission to discover, develop and commercialize innovative, first-in-class medicines that meet significant unmet medical needs, today announced that on May 23, 2024, the compensation committee of the company’s board of directors granted 10 new non-executive employees options to purchase an aggregate of 210,000 shares of the company’s common stock, and granted 13 new non-executive employees an aggregate of 179,050 Restricted Stock Units (RSUs). Each stock option has an exercise price equal to $7.44 per share, which was the closing trading price of the company’s common stock on the date of grant. The stock options and RSUs were granted as inducements material to each employee’s decision to enter into employment with Ardelyx, in accordance with Nasdaq Listing Rule 5635(c)(4).

Each stock option vests over four years, with 25% of the shares vesting on the first anniversary of the employee’s first date of employment, and the remaining 75% of shares vesting monthly thereafter. Each RSU vests over four years, with 25% vesting on the first company designated quarterly RSU vest date following the first anniversary of the employee’s first day of employment and the remaining 75% of shares vesting quarterly thereafter. Each stock option has a 10-year term and each option and RSU is subject to the terms and conditions of the company’s 2016 Employment Commencement Incentive Plan and the award agreement covering the grant.

About Ardelyx, Inc.

Ardelyx was founded with a mission to discover, develop and commercialize innovative, first-in-class medicines that meet significant unmet medical needs. Ardelyx has two commercial products approved in the United States, IBSRELA^® (tenapanor) and XPHOZAH^® (tenapanor). Ardelyx has agreements for the development and commercialization of tenapanor outside of the U.S. Kyowa Kirin commercializes PHOZEVEL^® (tenapanor) for hyperphosphatemia in Japan. A New Drug Application for tenapanor for hyperphosphatemia has been submitted in China with Fosun Pharma. Knight Therapeutics commercializes IBSRELA in Canada. For more information, please visit https://ardelyx.com/ and connect with us on X (formerly known as Twitter), LinkedIn and Facebook.

Investor and Media Contacts:
Caitlin Lowie
clowie@ardelyx.com

Source: Ardelyx, Inc.

FAQ

What did Ardelyx announce on May 30, 2024?

Ardelyx announced employment inducement grants of stock options and RSUs to 23 new non-executive employees.

How many stock options did Ardelyx grant on May 23, 2024?

Ardelyx granted a total of 210,000 stock options.

What was the exercise price for the stock options granted by Ardelyx?

The exercise price for the stock options was $7.44 per share.

Over what period do the stock options granted by Ardelyx vest?

The stock options vest over a period of four years.

How many Restricted Stock Units (RSUs) did Ardelyx grant?

Ardelyx granted a total of 179,050 RSUs.