Knott David M Jr Reduces Holdings in Ardelyx, Inc. (NASDAQ:ARDX)

Knott David M Jr reduced its position in Ardelyx, Inc. (NASDAQ:ARDX) by 10.3% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 612,270 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock after selling 70,597 shares during the period. Ardelyx makes up about 1.1% of Knott David M Jr’s holdings, making the stock its 16th biggest holding. Knott David M Jr owned approximately 0.26% of Ardelyx worth $3,104,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in Ardelyx by 5.6% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 14,362,659 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $72,819,000 after acquiring an additional 767,111 shares in the last quarter. Trexquant Investment LP raised its stake in shares of Ardelyx by 344.7% in the 4th quarter. Trexquant Investment LP now owns 906,311 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $4,595,000 after purchasing an additional 702,487 shares in the last quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp raised its stake in shares of Ardelyx by 67.2% in the 4th quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 1,452,176 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $7,363,000 after purchasing an additional 583,550 shares in the last quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Ardelyx by 175.5% during the fourth quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC now owns 469,819 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $2,382,000 after purchasing an additional 299,275 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in Ardelyx in the fourth quarter worth about $930,000. 58.92% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO Michael Raab sold 41,666 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on 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 sale, the chief executive officer now owns 1,108,719 shares in the company, valued at $5,942,733.84. This represents a 3.62 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, Director David M. Mott bought 199,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 21st. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $4.99 per share, for a total transaction of $993,010.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now owns 1,937,765 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,669,447.35. This trade represents a 11.44 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders sold 158,076 shares of company stock valued at $853,804 over the last 90 days. 5.90% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Ardelyx Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ ARDX opened at $4.91 on Tuesday. Ardelyx, Inc. has a 12-month low of $4.32 and a 12-month high of $9.33. The company has a market cap of $1.17 billion, a PE ratio of -30.69 and a beta of 0.87. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $5.40 and a 200-day simple moving average of $5.51. The company has a current ratio of 4.58, a quick ratio of 4.31 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.87.

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

ARDX has been the topic of several research reports. Scotiabank began coverage on Ardelyx in a research note on Friday, March 7th. They set a “sector outperform” rating and a $15.00 price objective on the stock. BTIG Research initiated coverage on shares of Ardelyx in a report on Tuesday, March 4th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $14.00 price objective for the company. Cantor Fitzgerald raised shares of Ardelyx to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 4th. HC Wainwright reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $5.50 price target on shares of Ardelyx in a report on Friday, February 21st. Finally, Raymond James reissued a “strong-buy” rating and issued a $13.00 target price (down previously from $15.00) on shares of Ardelyx in a report on Friday, February 21st. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $10.95.

About Ardelyx

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.