Ardelyx (NASDAQ:ARDX) Shares Up 5.8% – Should You Buy?

Shares of Ardelyx, Inc. (NASDAQ:ARDX) rose 5.8% during mid-day trading on Tuesday . The company traded as high as $5.31 and last traded at $5.29. Approximately 2,172,234 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 38% from the average daily volume of 3,498,500 shares. The stock had previously closed at $5.00.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have weighed in on ARDX. HC Wainwright lowered 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 note on Monday, November 11th. Jefferies Financial Group dropped their price target on shares of Ardelyx from $11.00 to $8.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, January 2nd. Finally, Citigroup reduced their target price 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, six have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $10.07.

Ardelyx Price Performance

The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $5.25 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $5.72. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $1.28 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -18.07 and a beta of 0.85.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director David M. Mott acquired 213,300 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 19th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $4.67 per share, with a total value of $996,111.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 1,638,765 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,653,032.55. This trade represents a 14.96 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Michael Raab sold 25,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, December 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $5.26, for a total transaction of $131,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 1,150,385 shares in the company, valued at $6,051,025.10. The trade was a 2.13 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 184,192 shares of company stock worth $1,013,345 over the last three months. Company insiders own 5.90% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Ardelyx

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of ARDX. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its position in Ardelyx by 1.6% in the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 387,144 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $2,667,000 after acquiring an additional 6,093 shares during the last quarter. B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. increased its position in shares of Ardelyx by 3.4% during the third quarter. B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 90,000 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $599,000 after purchasing an additional 3,000 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Ardelyx by 0.3% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 5,487,742 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $37,818,000 after purchasing an additional 17,296 shares during the last quarter. Barclays PLC boosted its position in shares of Ardelyx by 24.9% in the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 547,325 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $3,770,000 after purchasing an additional 109,285 shares during the period. Finally, State Street Corp grew its stake in Ardelyx by 1.5% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 12,141,850 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $83,657,000 after buying an additional 176,789 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other 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.