Ardelyx, Inc. (NASDAQ:ARDX) Shares Purchased by ADAR1 Capital Management LLC

ADAR1 Capital Management LLC raised its position in Ardelyx, Inc. (NASDAQ:ARDX) by 384.9% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 31,035 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock after purchasing an additional 24,635 shares during the quarter. ADAR1 Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Ardelyx were worth $157,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in Ardelyx by 3.4% in the third quarter. B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 90,000 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $599,000 after acquiring an additional 3,000 shares during the last quarter. Swiss National Bank increased its stake in Ardelyx by 1.0% during the fourth quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 463,100 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $2,348,000 after acquiring an additional 4,800 shares during the last quarter. Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC raised its position in Ardelyx by 42.7% in the fourth quarter. Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC now owns 16,486 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $84,000 after purchasing an additional 4,933 shares during the period. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. lifted its stake in shares of Ardelyx by 10.9% in the 4th quarter. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 50,222 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $255,000 after purchasing an additional 4,942 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Rhumbline Advisers grew its holdings in shares of Ardelyx by 1.9% during the 4th quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 326,124 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $1,653,000 after purchasing an additional 6,070 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 58.92% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

ARDX has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Cantor Fitzgerald upgraded shares of Ardelyx to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 4th. Jefferies Financial Group reduced their price target on shares of Ardelyx from $11.00 to $8.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 2nd. Raymond James reaffirmed a “strong-buy” rating and set a $13.00 price objective (down previously from $15.00) on shares of Ardelyx in a research report on Friday, February 21st. BTIG Research initiated coverage on Ardelyx in a research report on Tuesday, March 4th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $14.00 target price on the stock. Finally, HC Wainwright restated a “neutral” rating and set a $5.50 price target on shares of Ardelyx in a research report on Friday, February 21st. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $10.61.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director David M. Mott bought 199,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 21st. The stock was purchased at an average price of $4.99 per share, for a total transaction of $993,010.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now owns 1,937,765 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,669,447.35. This trade represents a 11.44 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Michael Raab sold 41,668 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, March 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $5.36, for a total value of $223,340.48. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,635,138 shares in the company, valued at $8,764,339.68. This trade represents a 2.48 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 116,410 shares of company stock worth $632,557. Company insiders own 5.90% of the company’s stock.

Ardelyx Stock Down 2.2 %

Ardelyx stock opened at $4.45 on Tuesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.06 billion, a P/E ratio of -27.81 and a beta of 0.81. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $5.34 and its 200-day simple moving average is $5.46. Ardelyx, Inc. has a twelve month low of $4.15 and a twelve month high of $9.33. The company has a current ratio of 4.58, a quick ratio of 4.31 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.87.

Ardelyx (NASDAQ:ARDX) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 20th. The biopharmaceutical company reported $0.02 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.02. The company had revenue of $116.13 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $111.16 million. Ardelyx had a negative return on equity of 24.87% and a negative net margin of 11.73%. As a group, equities analysts expect that Ardelyx, Inc. will post -0.18 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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.