Short Interest in Ardelyx, Inc. (NASDAQ:ARDX) Declines By 15.0%

Ardelyx, Inc. (NASDAQ:ARDX) was the recipient of a large decrease in short interest during the month of January. As of January 30th, there was short interest totaling 18,557,299 shares, a decrease of 15.0% from the January 15th total of 21,833,586 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 4,965,903 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 3.7 days. Approximately 8.0% of the shares of the company are short sold. Approximately 8.0% of the shares of the company are short sold. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 4,965,903 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 3.7 days.

Insider Transactions at Ardelyx

In other Ardelyx news, insider Laura A. Williams sold 50,000 shares of Ardelyx stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $6.98, for a total transaction of $349,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 361,563 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,523,709.74. The trade was a 12.15% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Michael Raab sold 46,887 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $5.54, for a total value of $259,753.98. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 1,455,363 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,062,711.02. This represents a 3.12% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold a total of 114,868 shares of company stock worth $708,369 over the last 90 days. 4.80% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Ardelyx

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. DCF Advisers LLC bought a new position in shares of Ardelyx during the 2nd quarter valued at $39,000. Brighton Jones LLC purchased a new stake in Ardelyx during the second quarter valued at about $40,000. First Horizon Corp grew its stake in shares of Ardelyx by 120.4% during the fourth quarter. First Horizon Corp now owns 7,906 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $46,000 after buying an additional 4,319 shares during the last quarter. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. increased its holdings in shares of Ardelyx by 147.0% in the third quarter. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. now owns 10,253 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $56,000 after buying an additional 6,102 shares during the period. Finally, Swiss Life Asset Management Ltd bought a new stake in shares of Ardelyx in the 3rd quarter valued at about $57,000. 58.92% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

ARDX has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Citigroup upped their target price on shares of Ardelyx from $11.00 to $14.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 9th. Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $15.00 price target on shares of Ardelyx in a report on Tuesday, January 27th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Ardelyx in a research note on Wednesday, January 21st. BTIG Research restated a “buy” rating and set a $17.00 target price on shares of Ardelyx in a research report on Thursday, January 29th. Finally, Wedbush raised their price target on Ardelyx from $16.00 to $19.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 21st. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have assigned a Buy rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $14.36.

Ardelyx Trading Down 2.0%

Shares of ARDX stock opened at $6.87 on Monday. The company has a quick ratio of 4.11, a current ratio of 4.41 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.31. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $6.71 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $6.05. Ardelyx has a 12-month low of $3.21 and a 12-month high of $8.40. The firm has a market cap of $1.67 billion, a P/E ratio of -29.87 and a beta of 0.57.

Ardelyx Company Profile

Ardelyx, Inc (NASDAQ: ARDX) is a clinical‐stage biopharmaceutical company focused on discovering, developing and commercializing targeted small molecule drugs for cardio‐renal and gastrointestinal diseases. The company’s lead marketed product, tenapanor (sold under the brand name XPHOZAH in the United States), is approved for the treatment of hyperphosphatemia in patients with chronic kidney disease on dialysis. Ardelyx’s proprietary approach targets epithelial transporters in the gastrointestinal tract, offering localized activity with limited systemic exposure.

Beyond tenapanor, Ardelyx’s development pipeline includes treatments designed to address other complications in kidney disease and related metabolic disorders.