Ardelyx (NASDAQ:ARDX) Trading Up 5.8% – Still a Buy?

Ardelyx, Inc. (NASDAQ:ARDX) shares were up 5.8% during trading on Thursday . The company traded as high as $4.80 and last traded at $4.76. Approximately 4,511,224 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 9% from the average daily volume of 4,951,766 shares. The stock had previously closed at $4.50.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts recently commented on ARDX shares. Citigroup decreased their price target on shares of Ardelyx from $12.00 to $10.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, November 4th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Ardelyx from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st. HC Wainwright lowered shares of Ardelyx from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and decreased their price target for the company from $11.00 to $5.50 in a research note on Monday. Finally, Wedbush restated 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 MarketBeat.com, Ardelyx currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $10.42.

Ardelyx Stock Performance

The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $5.97 and its 200-day simple moving average is $6.27. The stock has a market cap of $1.12 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -15.00 and a beta of 0.92. The company has a current ratio of 4.03, a quick ratio of 3.87 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64.

Insider Transactions at Ardelyx

In other news, insider David P. Rosenbaum sold 20,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $5.94, for a total transaction of $118,800.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 356,479 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,117,485.26. This represents a 5.31 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other news, insider David P. Rosenbaum sold 49,564 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, September 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $6.92, for a total transaction of $342,982.88. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 301,946 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,089,466.32. This represents a 14.10 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider David P. Rosenbaum sold 20,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $5.94, for a total transaction of $118,800.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 356,479 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,117,485.26. This trade represents a 5.31 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 267,983 shares of company stock valued at $1,632,802. Company insiders own 5.90% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Ardelyx

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in Ardelyx by 2.8% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 13,391,855 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $97,761,000 after purchasing an additional 365,809 shares during the last quarter. Clay Northam Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Ardelyx by 154.7% during the second quarter. Clay Northam Wealth Management LLC now owns 232,377 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $1,722,000 after acquiring an additional 141,145 shares during the last quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. raised its stake in shares of Ardelyx by 100.7% during the first quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 536,297 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $3,915,000 after acquiring an additional 269,046 shares during the last quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Ardelyx by 8.9% during the first quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 57,729 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $421,000 after acquiring an additional 4,735 shares during the last quarter. Finally, SG Americas Securities LLC raised its stake in shares of Ardelyx by 283.2% during the second quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 91,672 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $679,000 after acquiring an additional 67,750 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 58.92% of the company’s stock.

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.