Ardelyx (NASDAQ:ARDX) Shares Gap Up – Here’s What Happened

Ardelyx, Inc. (NASDAQ:ARDX) shares gapped up prior to trading on Friday . The stock had previously closed at $4.71, but opened at $4.85. Ardelyx shares last traded at $4.78, with a volume of 870,646 shares traded.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts recently commented on the stock. Wedbush reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $11.00 price objective on shares of Ardelyx in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. HC Wainwright cut shares of Ardelyx from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and cut their price target for the company from $11.00 to $5.50 in a report on Monday. StockNews.com raised shares of Ardelyx from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st. Finally, Citigroup lowered their price objective on Ardelyx from $12.00 to $10.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, November 4th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Ardelyx currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $10.42.

Ardelyx Trading Up 5.5 %

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 stock’s 50-day moving average is $5.95 and its two-hundred day moving average is $6.25. The company has a market cap of $1.18 billion, a P/E ratio of -15.97 and a beta of 0.92.

Insider Activity

In other Ardelyx news, CFO Justin A. Renz sold 5,289 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $5.86, for a total value of $30,993.54. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 295,257 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,730,206.02. This trade represents a 1.76 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider David P. Rosenbaum sold 27,171 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $6.10, for a total transaction of $165,743.10. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 153,616 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $937,057.60. The trade was a 15.03 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 247,983 shares of company stock valued at $1,514,002 in the last ninety days. 5.90% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Ardelyx

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of ARDX. World Equity Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Ardelyx by 15.4% in the second quarter. World Equity Group Inc. now owns 18,402 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $136,000 after buying an additional 2,453 shares during the period. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Ardelyx by 1,026.3% in the 2nd quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 3,548 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 3,233 shares in the last quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC raised its stake in Ardelyx by 8.9% during the 1st quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 57,729 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $421,000 after acquiring an additional 4,735 shares during the period. Aigen Investment Management LP lifted its holdings in Ardelyx by 29.4% during the third quarter. Aigen Investment Management LP now owns 23,510 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $162,000 after purchasing an additional 5,346 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Values First Advisors Inc. boosted its position in shares of Ardelyx by 14.6% in the third quarter. Values First Advisors Inc. now owns 46,282 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $319,000 after purchasing an additional 5,890 shares during the period. 58.92% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.