Virtus ETF Advisers LLC Acquires 15,981 Shares of Ardelyx, Inc. (NASDAQ:ARDX)

Virtus ETF Advisers LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Ardelyx, Inc. (NASDAQ:ARDX) by 31.5% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 66,728 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock after acquiring an additional 15,981 shares during the period. Virtus ETF Advisers LLC’s holdings in Ardelyx were worth $338,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of ARDX. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Ardelyx during the 4th quarter worth about $35,000. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. bought a new position in shares of Ardelyx in the fourth quarter worth about $41,000. Covestor Ltd increased its stake in Ardelyx by 287.0% in the 4th quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 11,315 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $57,000 after buying an additional 8,391 shares during the period. Sheets Smith Investment Management bought a new stake in Ardelyx during the 4th quarter valued at about $58,000. Finally, KBC Group NV boosted its position in Ardelyx by 101.8% in the 4th quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 13,706 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $69,000 after buying an additional 6,915 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 58.92% of the company’s stock.

Ardelyx Stock Performance

Shares of ARDX opened at $5.26 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.87, a quick ratio of 4.31 and a current ratio of 4.58. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $5.04 and a two-hundred day moving average of $5.27. The stock has a market cap of $1.25 billion, a P/E ratio of -32.88 and a beta of 0.81. Ardelyx, Inc. has a one year low of $4.02 and a one year high of $9.33.

Ardelyx (NASDAQ:ARDX) last released its earnings results on Thursday, February 20th. The biopharmaceutical company reported $0.02 EPS for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.02. Ardelyx had a negative return on equity of 24.87% and a negative net margin of 11.73%. The firm had revenue of $116.13 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $111.16 million. As a group, research analysts predict that Ardelyx, Inc. will post -0.18 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other Ardelyx news, CEO Michael Raab sold 41,666 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $5.36, for a total value of $223,329.76. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,108,719 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,942,733.84. The trade was a 3.62 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director David M. Mott acquired 77,729 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, February 24th. The stock was bought at an average price of $5.00 per share, for a total transaction of $388,645.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 2,015,494 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,077,470. This represents a 4.01 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders have sold 158,076 shares of company stock valued at $823,804 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 5.90% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts recently issued reports on ARDX shares. Raymond James reiterated a “strong-buy” rating and issued a $13.00 price target (down previously from $15.00) on shares of Ardelyx in a report on Friday, February 21st. Jefferies Financial Group lowered their target price on Ardelyx from $11.00 to $8.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, January 2nd. HC Wainwright restated a “neutral” rating and set a $5.50 price target on shares of Ardelyx in a research note on Friday, February 21st. Piper Sandler raised shares of Ardelyx to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 12th. Finally, BTIG Research began coverage on shares of Ardelyx in a research report on Tuesday, March 4th. They set a “buy” rating and a $14.00 price target for the company. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $10.61.

Ardelyx Profile

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.