Inceptionr LLC Buys 9,367 Shares of Ardelyx, Inc. (NASDAQ:ARDX)

Inceptionr LLC lifted its stake in shares of Ardelyx, Inc. (NASDAQ:ARDX) by 87.0% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 20,133 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock after purchasing an additional 9,367 shares during the period. Inceptionr LLC’s holdings in Ardelyx were worth $102,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. raised its stake in Ardelyx by 3.4% in the 3rd 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 period. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. raised its stake in 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 acquiring an additional 4,942 shares during the period. Aigen Investment Management LP raised its stake in Ardelyx by 29.4% in the 3rd quarter. Aigen Investment Management LP now owns 23,510 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $162,000 after acquiring an additional 5,346 shares during the period. Rhumbline Advisers raised its stake in Ardelyx by 1.9% in the 4th quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 326,124 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $1,653,000 after acquiring an additional 6,070 shares during the period. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its stake in Ardelyx by 1.6% in the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 387,144 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $2,667,000 after acquiring an additional 6,093 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 58.92% of the company’s stock.

Ardelyx Stock Performance

ARDX opened at $5.24 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $1.25 billion, a P/E ratio of -32.75 and a beta of 0.87. Ardelyx, Inc. has a 52-week low of $4.32 and a 52-week high of $9.33. 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 business’s fifty day moving average is $5.39 and its 200-day moving average is $5.58.

Ardelyx (NASDAQ:ARDX) last released its earnings results on Thursday, February 20th. The biopharmaceutical company reported $0.02 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.02. The company had revenue of $116.13 million for 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%. Sell-side analysts expect that Ardelyx, Inc. will post -0.18 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on the company. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH restated a “buy” rating and issued a $11.00 price target on shares of Ardelyx in a research note on Friday. Cantor Fitzgerald upgraded Ardelyx to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 4th. Scotiabank started coverage on Ardelyx in a research report on Friday. They set a “sector outperform” rating and a $15.00 price objective on the stock. HC Wainwright reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $5.50 price objective on shares of Ardelyx in a research report on Friday, February 21st. Finally, Raymond James reiterated 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. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $10.95.

Insider Activity at Ardelyx

In related news, CEO Michael Raab sold 41,666 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $5.36, for a total value of $223,329.76. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,108,719 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,942,733.84. This trade represents a 3.62 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, Director David M. Mott bought 213,300 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 19th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $4.67 per share, with a total value of $996,111.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 1,638,765 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,653,032.55. The trade was a 14.96 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have acquired 490,029 shares of company stock valued at $2,377,766 and have sold 158,076 shares valued at $853,804. 5.90% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.