Insider Buying: Ardelyx, Inc. (NASDAQ:ARDX) Director Buys 199,000 Shares of Stock

Ardelyx, Inc. (NASDAQ:ARDX) Director David M. Mott purchased 199,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 21st. The shares were bought at an average cost of $4.99 per share, with a total value of $993,010.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now owns 1,937,765 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,669,447.35. This trade represents a 11.44 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website.

Ardelyx Price Performance

Shares of Ardelyx stock traded up $0.14 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $5.05. 5,332,058 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 5,416,012. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $5.15 and a 200 day moving average price of $5.65. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.20 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -16.83 and a beta of 0.85. The company has a quick ratio of 3.87, a current ratio of 4.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64. Ardelyx, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $4.32 and a fifty-two week high of $10.13.

Institutional Trading of Ardelyx

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in ARDX. KBC Group NV raised its stake in Ardelyx by 101.8% in the 4th quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 13,706 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $69,000 after purchasing an additional 6,915 shares during the last quarter. Inspire Investing LLC lifted its stake in shares of Ardelyx by 32.8% during the fourth quarter. Inspire Investing LLC now owns 79,423 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $403,000 after buying an additional 19,630 shares during the period. SG Americas Securities LLC boosted its position in Ardelyx by 41.8% during the fourth quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 54,886 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $278,000 after acquiring an additional 16,182 shares during the last quarter. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. grew 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 worth $4,099,000 after acquiring an additional 164,480 shares during the period. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its holdings in Ardelyx by 1.6% in the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 387,144 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $2,667,000 after acquiring an additional 6,093 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 58.92% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have recently commented on ARDX. Citigroup reduced their target price on shares of Ardelyx from $12.00 to $10.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, November 4th. Jefferies Financial Group reduced their price objective on shares of Ardelyx from $11.00 to $8.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, January 2nd. Finally, HC Wainwright reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $5.50 target price on shares of Ardelyx in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $9.25.

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.