Ardelyx, Inc. (NASDAQ:ARDX) Shares Purchased by Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc.

Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of Ardelyx, Inc. (NASDAQ:ARDX - Free Report) by 25.5% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 808,392 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock after purchasing an additional 164,480 shares during the quarter. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. owned 0.34% of Ardelyx worth $4,099,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. State Street Corp lifted its holdings in Ardelyx by 1.5% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 12,141,850 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $83,657,000 after acquiring an additional 176,789 shares during the period. Rubric Capital Management LP increased its position in shares of Ardelyx by 68.5% in the third quarter. Rubric Capital Management LP now owns 3,060,191 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $21,085,000 after buying an additional 1,243,606 shares in the last quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets increased its position in shares of Ardelyx by 274.3% in the third quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 181,387 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $1,250,000 after buying an additional 132,928 shares in the last quarter. Vestal Point Capital LP purchased a new position in shares of Ardelyx in the third quarter valued at $3,445,000. Finally, Millennium Management LLC increased its position in shares of Ardelyx by 142.8% in the second quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 3,203,090 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $23,735,000 after buying an additional 1,883,995 shares in the last quarter. 58.92% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

ARDX has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Citigroup dropped their price target on Ardelyx from $12.00 to $10.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, November 4th. HC Wainwright reiterated a "neutral" rating and set a $5.50 price objective on shares of Ardelyx in a research report on Thursday. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group dropped their price objective on Ardelyx from $11.00 to $8.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, January 2nd. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $9.25.

Insider Buying and Selling at Ardelyx

In other news, CEO Michael Raab sold 25,000 shares of Ardelyx 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,210,108 shares of the company's stock, valued at $7,151,738.28. The trade was a 2.02 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Director David M. Mott acquired 213,300 shares of Ardelyx stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 19th. The stock was purchased 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 in the company, valued at approximately $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 sold 218,358 shares of company stock worth $1,189,516 in the last 90 days. 5.90% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Ardelyx Trading Down 2.9 %

ARDX traded down $0.15 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $5.01. The company's stock had a trading volume of 5,810,834 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,434,238. The company has a current ratio of 4.03, a quick ratio of 3.87 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64. The firm has a market cap of $1.19 billion, a P/E ratio of -16.70 and a beta of 0.85. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $5.15 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $5.67. Ardelyx, Inc. has a 52-week low of $4.32 and a 52-week high of $10.13.

Ardelyx 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.