BNP Paribas Financial Markets Boosts Holdings in Ardelyx, Inc. (NASDAQ:ARDX)

BNP Paribas Financial Markets boosted its position in shares of Ardelyx, Inc. (NASDAQ:ARDX) by 54.5% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 280,269 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock after buying an additional 98,882 shares during the quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets owned 0.12% of Ardelyx worth $1,421,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of ARDX. Two Seas Capital LP purchased a new position in Ardelyx during the fourth quarter worth $9,407,000. Rock Springs Capital Management LP purchased a new stake in shares of Ardelyx during the fourth quarter valued at $7,421,000. Algert Global LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Ardelyx during the fourth quarter valued at $4,984,000. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Ardelyx by 5.6% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 14,362,659 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $72,819,000 after purchasing an additional 767,111 shares during the period. Finally, Trexquant Investment LP boosted its stake in shares of Ardelyx by 344.7% during the fourth quarter. Trexquant Investment LP now owns 906,311 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $4,595,000 after purchasing an additional 702,487 shares during the period. 58.92% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Laura A. Williams sold 4,941 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 20th. The shares were 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 approximately $1,707,378.48. This represents a 1.60% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Michael Raab sold 22,964 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $5.62, for a total transaction of $129,057.68. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 1,085,755 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,101,943.10. This trade represents a 2.07% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 158,076 shares of company stock worth $777,555. 4.80% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Ardelyx Stock Performance

ARDX opened at $3.88 on Monday. Ardelyx, Inc. has a 52-week low of $3.21 and a 52-week high of $8.06. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $4.67 and its 200-day moving average price is $5.09. The company has a quick ratio of 4.31, a current ratio of 4.58 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.87. The company has a market cap of $928.31 million, a P/E ratio of -24.25 and a beta of 0.76.

Ardelyx (NASDAQ:ARDX) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The biopharmaceutical company reported ($0.17) earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.10) by ($0.07). Ardelyx had a negative return on equity of 24.87% and a negative net margin of 11.73%. The business had revenue of $74.11 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $79.40 million. During the same quarter last year, the company posted ($0.11) EPS. Ardelyx’s quarterly revenue was up 61.1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Ardelyx, Inc. will post -0.18 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on ARDX shares. Scotiabank started coverage on shares of Ardelyx in a research note on Friday, March 7th. They set a “sector outperform” rating and a $15.00 target price for the company. Cantor Fitzgerald raised shares of Ardelyx to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 4th. Raymond James lowered shares of Ardelyx from a “strong-buy” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $11.00 price objective for the company. in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $11.00 price objective on shares of Ardelyx in a research note on Friday, March 7th. Finally, Piper Sandler raised shares of Ardelyx to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 12th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $10.39.

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.