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

Ardelyx, Inc. (NASDAQ:ARDX) gapped up prior to trading on Tuesday after an insider bought additional shares in the company. The stock had previously closed at $3.74, but opened at $3.89. Ardelyx shares last traded at $3.91, with a volume of 1,390,705 shares.

Specifically, Director David M. Mott bought 381,377 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, May 2nd. The stock was bought at an average cost of $4.22 per share, with a total value of $1,609,410.94. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now owns 2,396,871 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,114,795.62. The trade was a 18.92 % increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on ARDX. Scotiabank assumed coverage on shares of Ardelyx in a report on Friday, March 7th. They issued a “sector outperform” rating and a $15.00 price target for the company. StockNews.com downgraded Ardelyx from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Monday. HC Wainwright reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $5.50 price target on shares of Ardelyx in a report on Friday, February 21st. BTIG Research assumed coverage on Ardelyx in a report on Tuesday, March 4th. They set a “buy” rating and a $14.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald upgraded shares of Ardelyx to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 4th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $10.39.

Ardelyx Stock Performance

The stock’s fifty day moving average is $4.95 and its 200-day moving average is $5.22. The stock has a market cap of $945.08 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -24.78 and a beta of 0.76. 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 issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 1st. The biopharmaceutical company reported ($0.17) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.10) by ($0.07). The business had revenue of $74.11 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $79.40 million. Ardelyx had a negative net margin of 11.73% and a negative return on equity of 24.87%. Ardelyx’s revenue for the quarter was up 61.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted ($0.11) earnings per share. On average, analysts forecast that Ardelyx, Inc. will post -0.18 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Trading of Ardelyx

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Barclays PLC grew its stake in shares of Ardelyx by 24.9% during the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 547,325 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $3,770,000 after acquiring an additional 109,285 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its position in 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. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. increased its stake in Ardelyx by 25.5% in the 4th quarter. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. now owns 808,392 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $4,099,000 after buying an additional 164,480 shares during the last quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC increased its stake in Ardelyx by 41.8% in the 4th quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 54,886 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $278,000 after buying an additional 16,182 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Inspire Investing LLC lifted its position in Ardelyx by 32.8% during the 4th quarter. Inspire Investing LLC now owns 79,423 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $403,000 after buying an additional 19,630 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 58.92% of the company’s stock.

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.