Ardelyx (NASDAQ:ARDX) Shares Up 4.6% - What's Next?

Ardelyx, Inc. (NASDAQ:ARDX - Get Free Report) shares traded up 4.6% on Friday . The stock traded as high as $5.11 and last traded at $5.03. 4,406,461 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 10% from the average session volume of 4,877,309 shares. The stock had previously closed at $4.81.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on ARDX shares. Citigroup dropped their price objective 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. HC Wainwright lowered shares of Ardelyx from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and lowered their price target for the company from $11.00 to $5.50 in a research report on Monday, November 11th. 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. Based on data from MarketBeat, Ardelyx has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $10.42.

Ardelyx Stock Performance

The business's fifty day moving average price is $5.34 and its 200-day moving average price is $5.77. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.23 billion, a PE ratio of -17.37 and a beta of 0.83. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64, a current ratio of 4.03 and a quick ratio of 3.87.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO Michael Raab sold 7,500 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, October 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $6.01, for a total value of $45,075.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,210,108 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,272,749.08. This represents a 0.62 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director David M. Mott bought 213,300 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 purchase, the director now directly owns 1,638,765 shares of the company's stock, valued at $7,653,032.55. This represents a 14.96 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders have sold 184,192 shares of company stock worth $1,013,345 in the last three months. 5.90% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Ardelyx

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Millennium Management LLC grew its position in Ardelyx by 142.8% in the second quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 3,203,090 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock worth $23,735,000 after acquiring an additional 1,883,995 shares in the last quarter. Rubric Capital Management LP lifted its stake in Ardelyx by 68.5% during the third quarter. Rubric Capital Management LP now owns 3,060,191 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock worth $21,085,000 after purchasing an additional 1,243,606 shares during the last quarter. Eventide Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Ardelyx by 11.2% in the 3rd quarter. Eventide Asset Management LLC now owns 7,413,049 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock worth $51,076,000 after purchasing an additional 746,067 shares in the last quarter. Vestal Point Capital LP bought a new position in shares of Ardelyx during the 3rd quarter valued at about $3,445,000. Finally, Squarepoint Ops LLC raised its holdings in shares of Ardelyx by 375.9% during the 2nd quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC now owns 460,689 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $3,414,000 after buying an additional 363,894 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 58.92% of the company's stock.

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.