Ardelyx, Inc. (NASDAQ:ARDX) Short Interest Up 5.1% in October

Ardelyx, Inc. (NASDAQ:ARDX - Get Free Report) saw a significant growth in short interest in the month of October. As of October 31st, there was short interest totalling 24,060,000 shares, a growth of 5.1% from the October 15th total of 22,890,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 3,460,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 7.0 days.

Insider Activity at Ardelyx

In other Ardelyx news, insider David P. Rosenbaum sold 49,564 shares of Ardelyx stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $6.92, for a total transaction of $342,982.88. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 301,946 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,089,466.32. This trade represents a 14.10 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Michael Raab sold 25,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Monday, October 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $5.91, for a total value of $147,750.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 1,210,108 shares in the company, valued at $7,151,738.28. The trade was a 2.02 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 247,983 shares of company stock worth $1,514,002 over the last three months. Company insiders own 5.90% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Ardelyx

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Ardelyx by 2.8% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 13,391,855 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock worth $97,761,000 after purchasing an additional 365,809 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp grew its holdings in shares of Ardelyx by 1.5% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 12,141,850 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock worth $83,657,000 after buying an additional 176,789 shares in the last quarter. Eventide Asset Management LLC raised its position in shares of Ardelyx by 11.2% in the third quarter. Eventide Asset Management LLC now owns 7,413,049 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $51,076,000 after buying an additional 746,067 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its position in Ardelyx by 0.3% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 5,487,742 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock worth $37,818,000 after acquiring an additional 17,296 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD grew its stake in Ardelyx by 68.0% during the 1st quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 3,913,863 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $28,572,000 after acquiring an additional 1,584,597 shares in the last quarter. 58.92% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Ardelyx Price Performance

Shares of ARDX stock traded down $0.01 on Monday, reaching $4.96. 5,919,379 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 4,979,953. Ardelyx has a 1 year low of $4.06 and a 1 year high of $10.13. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64, a quick ratio of 3.87 and a current ratio of 4.03. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $5.93 and a 200 day moving average price of $6.24. The company has a market cap of $1.17 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -16.57 and a beta of 0.92.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms recently issued reports on ARDX. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Ardelyx from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st. Citigroup lowered their target price on shares of Ardelyx from $12.00 to $10.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, November 4th. HC Wainwright cut Ardelyx from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and dropped their target price for the company from $11.00 to $5.50 in a research report on Monday, November 11th. Finally, Wedbush reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and issued a $11.00 price target on shares of Ardelyx in a report on Friday, August 2nd. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $10.42.

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.