Ardelyx (NASDAQ:ARDX) Trading 7.9% Higher – Here’s Why

Shares of Ardelyx, Inc. (NASDAQ:ARDX) rose 7.9% during trading on Tuesday . The company traded as high as $6.22 and last traded at $6.25. Approximately 1,314,370 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 68% from the average daily volume of 4,156,478 shares. The stock had previously closed at $5.79.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

ARDX has been the subject of several recent research reports. HC Wainwright reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $5.50 price objective on shares of Ardelyx in a research note on Thursday, January 16th. Citigroup dropped their price target on shares of Ardelyx from $12.00 to $10.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, November 4th. Cantor Fitzgerald upgraded shares of Ardelyx to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Jefferies Financial Group decreased their price objective on Ardelyx from $11.00 to $8.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, January 2nd. Finally, Piper Sandler lifted their target price on Ardelyx from $7.00 to $8.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, January 27th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $9.42.

Ardelyx Trading Down 10.1 %

The firm has a 50-day moving average of $5.29 and a 200 day moving average of $5.64. The company has a market cap of $1.35 billion, a P/E ratio of -19.07 and a beta of 0.85. The company has a current ratio of 4.03, a quick ratio of 3.87 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64.

Ardelyx (NASDAQ:ARDX) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 20th. The biopharmaceutical company reported $0.02 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.02. Ardelyx had a negative return on equity of 46.60% and a negative net margin of 28.82%. On average, analysts predict that Ardelyx, Inc. will post -0.17 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Ardelyx news, CEO Michael Raab sold 25,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, December 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $5.26, for a total value of $131,500.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 1,150,385 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,051,025.10. This represents a 2.13 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director David M. Mott acquired 199,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 21st. The shares were purchased at an average price of $4.99 per share, with a total value of $993,010.00. Following the acquisition, the director now owns 1,937,765 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,669,447.35. This represents a 11.44 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 133,332 shares of company stock worth $710,576. 5.90% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Janus Henderson Group PLC boosted its stake in Ardelyx by 13.3% during the 4th quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 24,387,941 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $123,587,000 after purchasing an additional 2,858,061 shares during the last quarter. Two Seas Capital LP purchased a new position in shares of Ardelyx during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $9,407,000. Rock Springs Capital Management LP purchased a new position in shares of Ardelyx during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $7,421,000. D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. grew its holdings in Ardelyx by 9,499.8% during the fourth quarter. D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. now owns 1,468,668 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $7,446,000 after buying an additional 1,453,369 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Point72 Asset Management L.P. purchased a new stake in Ardelyx in the 4th quarter valued at $6,762,000. 58.92% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.