Ardelyx Target of Unusually Large Options Trading (NASDAQ:ARDX)

Ardelyx, Inc. (NASDAQ:ARDX) was the recipient of some unusual options trading activity on Wednesday. Traders bought 12,093 put options on the company. This is an increase of 411% compared to the average volume of 2,365 put options.

Ardelyx Price Performance

Shares of ARDX traded down $0.19 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $4.15. The company had a trading volume of 2,789,980 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,356,168. The company has a market capitalization of $987.99 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -25.84 and a beta of 0.81. Ardelyx has a 12-month low of $4.03 and a 12-month high of $9.33. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $5.29 and a 200-day simple moving average of $5.43. 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 posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 20th. The biopharmaceutical company reported $0.02 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.02. Ardelyx had a negative net margin of 11.73% and a negative return on equity of 24.87%. The company had revenue of $116.13 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $111.16 million. Research analysts expect that Ardelyx will post -0.18 earnings per share for the current year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on ARDX. Scotiabank started coverage on shares of Ardelyx in a research report on Friday, March 7th. They set a “sector outperform” rating and a $15.00 target price on the stock. HC Wainwright reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $5.50 price objective on shares of Ardelyx in a research note on Friday, February 21st. Jefferies Financial Group dropped their target price on Ardelyx from $11.00 to $8.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, January 2nd. BTIG Research began coverage on shares of Ardelyx in a research note on Tuesday, March 4th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $14.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Raymond James restated a “strong-buy” rating and issued a $13.00 target price (down previously from $15.00) on shares of Ardelyx in a research note on Friday, February 21st. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $10.61.

Insider Activity at Ardelyx

In other news, CEO Michael Raab sold 41,666 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, April 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $4.59, for a total value of $191,246.94. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,615,587 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,415,544.33. The trade was a 2.51 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Laura A. Williams sold 4,941 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $5.62, for a total value of $27,768.42. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 303,804 shares in the company, valued at $1,707,378.48. This represents a 1.60 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale 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.

Institutional Trading of Ardelyx

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. State Street Corp boosted its position in shares of Ardelyx by 1.5% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 12,141,850 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $83,657,000 after buying an additional 176,789 shares in the last quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets lifted its holdings in shares of Ardelyx by 274.3% in the third quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 181,387 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $1,250,000 after purchasing an additional 132,928 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its holdings in shares of Ardelyx by 1.6% in the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 387,144 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $2,667,000 after purchasing an additional 6,093 shares in the last quarter. Barclays PLC grew its position in shares of Ardelyx by 24.9% in the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 547,325 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $3,770,000 after purchasing an additional 109,285 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Ardelyx by 0.3% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 5,487,742 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $37,818,000 after purchasing an additional 17,296 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 58.92% of the company’s stock.

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.