Pekin Hardy Strauss Inc. Sells 11,000 Shares of Ardelyx, Inc. (NASDAQ:ARDX)

Pekin Hardy Strauss Inc. lessened its holdings in Ardelyx, Inc. (NASDAQ:ARDX) by 2.0% during the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 531,660 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock after selling 11,000 shares during the period. Pekin Hardy Strauss Inc.’s holdings in Ardelyx were worth $3,940,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Ardelyx by 1,026.3% in the 2nd quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 3,548 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 3,233 shares during the last quarter. HighMark Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Ardelyx during the first quarter worth approximately $36,000. Redwood Wealth Management Group LLC purchased a new stake in Ardelyx during the second quarter valued at approximately $62,000. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Ardelyx in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $64,000. Finally, Jump Financial LLC purchased a new position in shares of Ardelyx in the 4th quarter worth approximately $63,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 58.92% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Robert Blanks sold 38,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $5.96, for a total transaction of $226,480.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 324,331 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,933,012.76. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In other news, insider Robert Blanks sold 38,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, June 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $5.96, for a total transaction of $226,480.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 324,331 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,933,012.76. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Michael Raab sold 35,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, September 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $5.61, for a total value of $196,350.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 1,220,608 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,847,610.88. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 204,872 shares of company stock worth $1,200,623. Corporate insiders own 5.50% of the company’s stock.

Ardelyx Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:ARDX opened at $6.22 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68, a quick ratio of 3.99 and a current ratio of 4.21. The firm has a market cap of $1.45 billion, a PE ratio of -22.21 and a beta of 0.90. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $5.86 and its 200-day simple moving average is $6.73. Ardelyx, Inc. has a one year low of $3.16 and a one year high of $10.13.

Ardelyx (NASDAQ:ARDX) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 1st. The biopharmaceutical company reported ($0.07) EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.11) by $0.04. Ardelyx had a negative return on equity of 39.73% and a negative net margin of 31.02%. The company had revenue of $73.20 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $55.03 million. During the same period last year, the business posted ($0.08) EPS. Ardelyx’s quarterly revenue was up 228.3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts predict that Ardelyx, Inc. will post -0.26 EPS for the current year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on ARDX. Citigroup raised their price target on Ardelyx from $10.00 to $12.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. HC Wainwright lifted their price target on shares of Ardelyx from $10.00 to $11.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, August 5th. Wedbush reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $11.00 price objective on shares of Ardelyx in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. Piper Sandler lowered Ardelyx from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and dropped their target price for the company from $15.00 to $7.00 in a research report on Tuesday, July 2nd. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded Ardelyx from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $11.67.

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.