Ardelyx Target of Unusually Large Options Trading (NASDAQ:ARDX)

Ardelyx, Inc. (NASDAQ:ARDX) saw some unusual options trading activity on Friday. Stock investors bought 4,907 call options on the stock. This represents an increase of approximately 220% compared to the typical daily volume of 1,535 call options.

Ardelyx Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:ARDX opened at $6.06 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.46 billion, a P/E ratio of -26.35 and a beta of 0.67. Ardelyx has a 1-year low of $3.21 and a 1-year high of $6.78. The company has a current ratio of 4.30, a quick ratio of 4.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.44. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $5.76 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $4.86.

Ardelyx (NASDAQ:ARDX) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 30th. The biopharmaceutical company reported $0.00 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.06) by $0.06. The firm had revenue of $110.33 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $100.44 million. Ardelyx had a negative return on equity of 36.57% and a negative net margin of 14.60%.Ardelyx’s quarterly revenue was up 14.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts predict that Ardelyx will post -0.18 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, insider Laura A. Williams sold 80,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $6.12, for a total value of $489,600.00. Following the sale, the insider owned 366,322 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,241,890.64. The trade was a 17.92% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Elizabeth A. Grammer sold 5,841 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $5.93, for a total transaction of $34,637.13. Following the transaction, the insider owned 305,890 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,813,927.70. This trade represents a 1.87% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold 165,551 shares of company stock worth $996,917 in the last three months. Company insiders own 4.80% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Ardelyx

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in ARDX. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. raised its stake in Ardelyx by 79.6% in the 2nd quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 233,248 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $914,000 after acquiring an additional 103,385 shares during the period. AQR Capital Management LLC increased its position in Ardelyx by 188.5% during the 1st quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 1,573,063 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $7,724,000 after buying an additional 1,027,814 shares during the period. Millennium Management LLC increased its position in Ardelyx by 118.2% during the 1st quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 6,465,262 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $31,744,000 after buying an additional 3,501,782 shares during the period. Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd bought a new position in Ardelyx during the 1st quarter worth $673,000. Finally, Panagora Asset Management Inc. increased its position in Ardelyx by 52.8% during the 1st quarter. Panagora Asset Management Inc. now owns 682,231 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $3,350,000 after buying an additional 235,804 shares during the period. 58.92% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts recently issued reports on ARDX shares. TD Cowen upped their price target on shares of Ardelyx from $9.00 to $10.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday. Cowen reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Ardelyx in a research report on Friday. Piper Sandler upped their price target on shares of Ardelyx from $8.00 to $9.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 6th. Wedbush reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $14.00 price target (up previously from $13.00) on shares of Ardelyx in a research report on Tuesday, August 5th. Finally, UBS Group set a $12.00 price target on shares of Ardelyx in a research report on Tuesday, August 5th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have assigned a Buy rating, one has issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $11.55.

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.