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

Ardelyx, Inc. (NASDAQ:ARDX)’s stock price traded up 5.3% during mid-day trading on Thursday after an insider bought additional shares in the company. The company traded as high as $5.41 and last traded at $5.37. 360,250 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 92% from the average session 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 firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 24th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $5.00 per share, with a total value of $388,645.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now owns 2,015,494 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $10,077,470. This represents a 4.01 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have weighed in on the stock. Raymond James reaffirmed a “strong-buy” rating and set a $13.00 price objective (down from $15.00) on shares of Ardelyx in a research note on Friday, February 21st. 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. Piper Sandler upped their price objective on shares of Ardelyx from $7.00 to $8.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Cantor Fitzgerald raised shares of Ardelyx to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, Citigroup decreased their price target on shares of Ardelyx from $12.00 to $10.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, November 4th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $9.93.

Ardelyx Price Performance

The company’s fifty day moving average is $5.33 and its two-hundred day moving average is $5.61. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.28 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -33.50 and a beta of 0.85. The company has a quick ratio of 4.31, a current ratio of 4.58 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.87.

Ardelyx (NASDAQ:ARDX) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 20th. The biopharmaceutical company reported $0.02 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. Equities research analysts anticipate that Ardelyx, Inc. will post -0.18 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of ARDX. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC grew its position in shares of Ardelyx by 34.3% in the 3rd quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 28,365 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $195,000 after acquiring an additional 7,245 shares during the period. Tyler Stone Wealth Management boosted its holdings in shares of Ardelyx by 87.0% during the 3rd quarter. Tyler Stone Wealth Management now owns 96,850 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $667,000 after buying an additional 45,055 shares during the period. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Ardelyx by 51.8% during the 3rd quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC now owns 170,544 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $1,175,000 after buying an additional 58,219 shares during the period. Aigen Investment Management LP boosted its holdings in shares of Ardelyx by 29.4% during the 3rd quarter. Aigen Investment Management LP now owns 23,510 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $162,000 after buying an additional 5,346 shares during the period. Finally, Simplify Asset Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Ardelyx by 15.3% during the 3rd quarter. Simplify Asset Management Inc. now owns 689,364 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $4,750,000 after buying an additional 91,364 shares during the period. Institutional investors 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.