Principal Financial Group Inc. Sells 336,014 Shares of Ardelyx, Inc. (NASDAQ:ARDX)

Principal Financial Group Inc. decreased its holdings in Ardelyx, Inc. (NASDAQ:ARDX - Free Report) by 71.3% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 135,439 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock after selling 336,014 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned about 0.06% of Ardelyx worth $933,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC raised its stake in Ardelyx by 1,026.3% in the second quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 3,548 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 3,233 shares during the period. Redwood Wealth Management Group LLC bought a new position in shares of Ardelyx during the second quarter worth approximately $62,000. Coastal Bridge Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Ardelyx during the second quarter worth approximately $74,000. Helen Stephens Group LLC bought a new position in shares of Ardelyx during the third quarter worth approximately $76,000. Finally, Paloma Partners Management Co bought a new position in shares of Ardelyx during the first quarter worth approximately $86,000. Institutional investors own 58.92% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Ardelyx

In other Ardelyx news, insider David P. Rosenbaum sold 49,564 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Friday, September 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $6.92, for a total value of $342,982.88. Following the sale, the insider now owns 301,946 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,089,466.32. This trade represents a 14.10 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Michael Raab sold 7,500 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $6.22, for a total value of $46,650.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,219,509 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,585,345.98. This represents a 0.61 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 234,568 shares of company stock valued at $1,384,791. 5.90% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on ARDX. Wedbush reiterated an "outperform" rating and set a $11.00 target price on shares of Ardelyx in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. Citigroup lowered their target price on Ardelyx from $12.00 to $10.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, November 4th. StockNews.com upgraded Ardelyx from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st. Finally, HC Wainwright downgraded Ardelyx from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and reduced their price target for the stock 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 assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Ardelyx has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $10.42.

Ardelyx Price Performance

NASDAQ:ARDX traded up $0.19 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $5.31. 3,796,250 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 5,792,486. The company has a market capitalization of $1.26 billion, a P/E ratio of -17.70 and a beta of 0.92. Ardelyx, Inc. 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 current ratio of 4.03 and a quick ratio of 3.87. The business has a 50 day moving average of $5.84 and a 200 day moving average of $6.13.

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.