Ardelyx, Inc. (NASDAQ:ARDX) CFO Justin A. Renz Sells 5,260 Shares of Stock

Ardelyx, Inc. (NASDAQ:ARDX) CFO Justin A. Renz sold 5,260 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $4.79, for a total value of $25,195.40. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 291,139 shares in the company, valued at $1,394,555.81. This trade represents a 1.77 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink.

Ardelyx Stock Up 3.7 %

Shares of Ardelyx stock opened at $5.31 on Friday. Ardelyx, Inc. has a 1 year low of $4.06 and a 1 year high of $10.13. The firm has a market cap of $1.26 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -17.70 and a beta of 0.92. The company has a 50-day moving average of $5.84 and a 200 day moving average of $6.16. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64, a current ratio of 4.03 and a quick ratio of 3.87.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have commented on ARDX. HC Wainwright downgraded shares of Ardelyx from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and decreased their price target for the stock from $11.00 to $5.50 in a research note on Monday, November 11th. Citigroup reduced their target price on shares of Ardelyx from $12.00 to $10.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, November 4th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Ardelyx from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st. Finally, Wedbush reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $11.00 price objective on shares of Ardelyx in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Ardelyx has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $10.42.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Ardelyx

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in ARDX. ProShare Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Ardelyx by 8.9% in the 1st quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 57,729 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $421,000 after purchasing an additional 4,735 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in Ardelyx by 2.8% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 13,391,855 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $97,761,000 after buying an additional 365,809 shares during the last quarter. Natixis bought a new position in shares of Ardelyx in the first quarter worth approximately $2,015,000. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD grew its holdings in shares of Ardelyx by 68.0% during the first quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 3,913,863 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $28,572,000 after buying an additional 1,584,597 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Paloma Partners Management Co bought a new stake in shares of Ardelyx during the first quarter valued at approximately $86,000. Institutional investors own 58.92% of the company’s stock.

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.