Ardelyx, Inc. (NASDAQ:ARDX) Shares Purchased by Trexquant Investment LP

Trexquant Investment LP lifted its holdings in Ardelyx, Inc. (NASDAQ:ARDX - Free Report) by 344.7% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 906,311 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock after purchasing an additional 702,487 shares during the quarter. Trexquant Investment LP owned about 0.38% of Ardelyx worth $4,595,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its stake in Ardelyx by 2.1% during the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,938,778 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $13,358,000 after purchasing an additional 40,702 shares during the last quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets increased its holdings in Ardelyx by 274.3% in the 3rd quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 181,387 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock worth $1,250,000 after buying an additional 132,928 shares during the period. Parallax Volatility Advisers L.P. purchased a new position in Ardelyx during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $506,000. State Street Corp lifted its stake in Ardelyx by 1.5% during the 3rd 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. Finally, Barclays PLC boosted its holdings in shares of Ardelyx by 24.9% in the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 547,325 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $3,770,000 after acquiring an additional 109,285 shares during the last quarter. 58.92% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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Insider Buying and Selling at Ardelyx

In other Ardelyx news, insider Laura A. Williams sold 4,941 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $5.62, for a total value of $27,768.42. Following the sale, the insider now owns 303,804 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,707,378.48. The trade was a 1.60 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Michael Raab sold 41,666 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Friday, April 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $4.59, for a total value of $191,246.94. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 1,615,587 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $7,415,544.33. This represents a 2.51 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 158,076 shares of company stock worth $823,804 over the last quarter. 5.90% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have recently commented on the company. Jefferies Financial Group lowered their target price on Ardelyx from $11.00 to $8.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 2nd. HC Wainwright reiterated a "neutral" rating and issued a $5.50 target price on shares of Ardelyx in a research report on Friday, February 21st. BTIG Research started coverage on shares of Ardelyx in a research note on Tuesday, March 4th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $14.00 price target on the stock. Cantor Fitzgerald upgraded Ardelyx to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 4th. Finally, Scotiabank started coverage on Ardelyx in a research report on Friday, March 7th. They issued a "sector outperform" rating and a $15.00 target price on the stock. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $10.61.

Ardelyx Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:ARDX traded down $0.39 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $4.12. The company had a trading volume of 1,498,770 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,365,612. Ardelyx, Inc. has a twelve month low of $4.02 and a twelve month high of $9.33. The stock has a market cap of $980.83 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -25.76 and a beta of 0.81. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.87, a current ratio of 4.58 and a quick ratio of 4.31. The business's 50-day simple moving average is $5.26 and its 200-day simple moving average is $5.42.

Ardelyx (NASDAQ:ARDX - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 20th. The biopharmaceutical company reported $0.02 EPS for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.02. Ardelyx had a negative return on equity of 24.87% and a negative net margin of 11.73%. The business had revenue of $116.13 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $111.16 million. On average, research analysts predict that Ardelyx, Inc. will post -0.18 earnings per share for the current year.

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.