Vestal Point Capital LP Acquires Shares of 500,000 Ardelyx, Inc. (NASDAQ:ARDX)

Vestal Point Capital LP purchased a new position in shares of Ardelyx, Inc. (NASDAQ:ARDX - Free Report) during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 500,000 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock, valued at approximately $3,445,000. Vestal Point Capital LP owned 0.21% of Ardelyx at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Ardelyx by 1,026.3% during the second quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 3,548 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 3,233 shares during the period. Redwood Wealth Management Group LLC acquired a new position in Ardelyx during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $62,000. Coastal Bridge Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Ardelyx in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $74,000. Helen Stephens Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Ardelyx in the 3rd quarter valued at $76,000. Finally, CWM LLC raised its holdings in shares of Ardelyx by 328.1% in the 3rd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 12,814 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $88,000 after purchasing an additional 9,821 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 58.92% of the company's stock.

Ardelyx Stock Performance

Shares of ARDX stock traded down $0.02 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $5.67. 2,615,691 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 4,938,610. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $5.79 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $6.08. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64, a quick ratio of 3.87 and a current ratio of 4.03. Ardelyx, Inc. has a 12-month low of $4.34 and a 12-month high of $10.13. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.34 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -18.97 and a beta of 0.92.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts recently commented on the stock. Citigroup lowered their target price on shares of Ardelyx from $12.00 to $10.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, November 4th. HC Wainwright cut Ardelyx from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and lowered their price objective for the stock from $11.00 to $5.50 in a research report on Monday, November 11th. Finally, Wedbush reissued an "outperform" rating and set a $11.00 target price on shares of Ardelyx in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Ardelyx currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $10.42.

Insider Activity at Ardelyx

In other Ardelyx news, CEO Michael Raab sold 35,000 shares of Ardelyx stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, September 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $5.61, for a total transaction of $196,350.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 1,220,608 shares of the company's stock, valued at $6,847,610.88. The trade was a 2.79 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Laura A. Williams sold 7,366 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $4.79, for a total value of $35,283.14. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 308,745 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,478,888.55. The trade was a 2.33 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 252,068 shares of company stock valued at $1,472,641 in the last three months. 5.90% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.