Ardelyx, Inc. (NASDAQ:ARDX) Sees Significant Increase in Short Interest

Ardelyx, Inc. (NASDAQ:ARDX - Get Free Report) saw a significant increase in short interest in the month of January. As of January 31st, there was short interest totalling 26,630,000 shares, an increase of 12.7% from the January 15th total of 23,620,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 4,770,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 5.6 days.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have commented on ARDX. Citigroup dropped their price target on Ardelyx from $12.00 to $10.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, November 4th. Piper Sandler boosted their target price on shares of Ardelyx from $7.00 to $8.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Cantor Fitzgerald raised shares of Ardelyx to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Jefferies Financial Group dropped their price objective on shares of Ardelyx from $11.00 to $8.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, January 2nd. Finally, HC Wainwright restated a "neutral" rating and set a $5.50 price objective on shares of Ardelyx in a report on Thursday, January 16th. Three equities research 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 data from MarketBeat.com, Ardelyx currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $9.42.

Insider Activity

In other Ardelyx news, Director David M. Mott acquired 199,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 21st. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $4.99 per share, for a total transaction of $993,010.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now owns 1,937,765 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $9,669,447.35. This trade represents a 11.44 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Michael Raab sold 41,666 shares of Ardelyx stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $5.36, for a total value of $223,329.76. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 1,108,719 shares in the company, valued at $5,942,733.84. The trade was a 3.62 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 177,938 shares of company stock valued at $924,239 over the last 90 days. 5.90% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Ardelyx

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in ARDX. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Ardelyx in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $35,000. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. bought a new stake in Ardelyx in the fourth quarter valued at $41,000. Quarry LP bought a new stake in Ardelyx in the fourth quarter valued at $51,000. Rehmann Capital Advisory Group bought a new stake in Ardelyx in the fourth quarter valued at $51,000. Finally, Covestor Ltd grew its position in Ardelyx by 287.0% in the fourth quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 11,315 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $57,000 after acquiring an additional 8,391 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 58.92% of the company's stock.

Ardelyx Stock Performance

Ardelyx stock traded up $0.55 on Tuesday, hitting $6.34. The company's stock had a trading volume of 2,338,164 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,195,804. The firm has a market cap of $1.50 billion, a P/E ratio of -20.95 and a beta of 0.85. The company has a quick ratio of 3.87, a current ratio of 4.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $5.25 and a 200-day moving average price of $5.63. Ardelyx has a one year low of $4.32 and a one year high of $9.83.

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.