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

Ardelyx, Inc. (NASDAQ:ARDX - Get Free Report)'s stock price gapped up prior to trading on Tuesday following insider buying activity. The stock had previously closed at $4.58, but opened at $4.83. Ardelyx shares last traded at $4.74, with a volume of 1,033,115 shares traded.

Specifically, Director David M. Mott acquired 213,300 shares of Ardelyx stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 19th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $4.67 per share, for a total transaction of $996,111.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 1,638,765 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $7,653,032.55. The trade was a 14.96 % increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have recently commented on the stock. HC Wainwright cut shares of Ardelyx from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and cut their target price for the stock from $11.00 to $5.50 in a research note on Monday, November 11th. Citigroup cut their price objective on Ardelyx from $12.00 to $10.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, November 4th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $10.42.

Ardelyx Stock Performance

The company has a market cap of $1.10 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -15.47 and a beta of 0.83. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $5.42 and its 200 day simple moving average is $5.81. The company has a current ratio of 4.03, a quick ratio of 3.87 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Ardelyx

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. grew its holdings in Ardelyx by 3.4% in the 3rd quarter. B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 90,000 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $599,000 after buying an additional 3,000 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Ardelyx by 0.3% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 5,487,742 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $37,818,000 after purchasing an additional 17,296 shares during the period. Barclays PLC increased its position in Ardelyx by 24.9% during the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 547,325 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock worth $3,770,000 after purchasing an additional 109,285 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp raised its stake in 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 purchasing an additional 176,789 shares during the period. Finally, Parallax Volatility Advisers L.P. acquired a new position in Ardelyx in the 3rd quarter valued at about $506,000. 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.