Ardelyx (NASDAQ:ARDX) Shares Up 5.3% After Insider Buying Activity

Ardelyx, Inc. (NASDAQ:ARDX) was up 5.3% on Thursday following insider buying activity. The company traded as high as $5.41 and last traded at $5.37. Approximately 360,250 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 92% from the average daily volume of 4,246,100 shares. The stock had previously closed at $5.10.

Specifically, Director David M. Mott acquired 77,729 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 24th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $5.00 per share, for a total transaction of $388,645.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 2,015,494 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,077,470. This trade represents a 4.01 % increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts recently commented on the company. Citigroup dropped their price target on 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 raised shares of Ardelyx to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, January 30th. HC Wainwright reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $5.50 price target on shares of Ardelyx in a research note on Friday, February 21st. Jefferies Financial Group dropped their price objective on shares of Ardelyx from $11.00 to $8.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, January 2nd. Finally, Raymond James restated a “strong-buy” rating and set a $13.00 target price (down from $15.00) on shares of Ardelyx in a research report on Friday, February 21st. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Ardelyx presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $9.93.

Ardelyx Price Performance

The company has a current ratio of 4.58, a quick ratio of 4.31 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.87. The company has a market capitalization of $1.24 billion, a PE ratio of -32.63 and a beta of 0.85. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $5.32 and its two-hundred day moving average is $5.62.

Ardelyx (NASDAQ:ARDX) last issued 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. The firm had revenue of $116.13 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $111.16 million. Ardelyx had a negative return on equity of 24.87% and a negative net margin of 11.73%. On average, equities analysts predict that Ardelyx, Inc. will post -0.18 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Trading of Ardelyx

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Ensign Peak Advisors Inc boosted its holdings in shares of Ardelyx by 3.1% in the fourth quarter. Ensign Peak Advisors Inc now owns 73,950 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $375,000 after purchasing an additional 2,200 shares during the period. B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Ardelyx by 3.4% in the 3rd quarter. B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 90,000 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $599,000 after buying an additional 3,000 shares during the period. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. grew its position in shares of Ardelyx by 2.3% during the 4th quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 154,625 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $788,000 after buying an additional 3,550 shares in the last quarter. Swiss National Bank increased its stake in shares of Ardelyx by 1.0% during the fourth quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 463,100 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $2,348,000 after buying an additional 4,800 shares during the period. Finally, Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC raised its holdings in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 4,933 shares in the last quarter. 58.92% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Ardelyx Company 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.