Ardelyx (NASDAQ:ARDX) Shares Up 5.3% Following Insider Buying Activity

Shares of Ardelyx, Inc. (NASDAQ:ARDX) rose 5.3% during trading on Thursday after an insider bought additional shares in the company. The company traded as high as $5.41 and last traded at $5.37. Approximately 360,250 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 92% from the average daily volume of 4,246,100 shares. The stock had previously closed at $5.10.

Specifically, Director David M. Mott acquired 77,729 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 24th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $5.00 per share, with a total value of $388,645.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now directly owns 2,015,494 shares in the company, valued at $10,077,470. This represents a 4.01 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have issued reports on ARDX. Piper Sandler increased their target price on Ardelyx from $7.00 to $8.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Cantor Fitzgerald raised Ardelyx to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. HC Wainwright reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $5.50 target price on shares of Ardelyx in a report on Friday, February 21st. Citigroup lowered their price target on shares of Ardelyx from $12.00 to $10.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, November 4th. Finally, 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 note on Thursday, January 2nd. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Ardelyx currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $9.93.

Ardelyx Stock Up 2.4 %

The company has a market capitalization of $1.24 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -32.63 and a beta of 0.85. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.87, a quick ratio of 4.31 and a current ratio of 4.58. The business’s 50 day moving average is $5.32 and its 200 day moving average is $5.62.

Ardelyx (NASDAQ:ARDX) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 20th. The biopharmaceutical company reported $0.02 EPS for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.02. Ardelyx had a negative net margin of 11.73% and a negative return on equity of 24.87%. The business had revenue of $116.13 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $111.16 million. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Ardelyx, Inc. will post -0.18 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Trading of Ardelyx

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. GF Fund Management CO. LTD. purchased a new position in shares of Ardelyx in the fourth quarter worth about $25,000. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. acquired a new stake in Ardelyx during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $35,000. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. purchased a new stake in shares of Ardelyx in the 4th quarter valued at $41,000. Quarry LP purchased a new position in shares of Ardelyx during the fourth quarter worth $51,000. Finally, Rehmann Capital Advisory Group purchased a new position in shares of Ardelyx during the fourth quarter worth $51,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors 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.