Ardelyx (NASDAQ:ARDX) Shares Down 6.5% – Here’s What Happened

Ardelyx, Inc. (NASDAQ:ARDX)’s stock price dropped 6.5% during mid-day trading on Tuesday . The stock traded as low as $5.02 and last traded at $5.04. Approximately 2,344,510 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 52% from the average daily volume of 4,849,227 shares. The stock had previously closed at $5.39.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on ARDX. Citigroup cut their price target on shares of Ardelyx from $12.00 to $10.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Monday, November 4th. HC Wainwright downgraded Ardelyx from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and reduced their price objective for the company from $11.00 to $5.50 in a research report on Monday, November 11th. Three 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, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $10.42.

Ardelyx Trading Up 1.7 %

The firm has a market cap of $1.11 billion, a P/E ratio of -15.63 and a beta of 0.83. The business’s 50 day moving average is $5.50 and its 200-day moving average is $5.86. The company has a quick ratio of 3.87, a current ratio of 4.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO Michael Raab sold 7,500 shares of Ardelyx stock in a transaction on Friday, October 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $6.01, for a total transaction of $45,075.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,210,108 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,272,749.08. This trade represents a 0.62 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider David P. Rosenbaum sold 49,564 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, September 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $6.92, for a total value of $342,982.88. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 301,946 shares in the company, valued at $2,089,466.32. This trade represents a 14.10 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 236,756 shares of company stock worth $1,374,538 over the last ninety days. 5.90% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Ardelyx

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Millennium Management LLC increased its stake in Ardelyx by 142.8% in the second quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 3,203,090 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $23,735,000 after acquiring an additional 1,883,995 shares during the period. Rubric Capital Management LP raised its holdings in shares of Ardelyx by 68.5% in the third quarter. Rubric Capital Management LP now owns 3,060,191 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $21,085,000 after purchasing an additional 1,243,606 shares during the last quarter. Eventide Asset Management LLC increased its stake in Ardelyx by 11.2% in the 3rd quarter. Eventide Asset Management LLC now owns 7,413,049 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $51,076,000 after buying an additional 746,067 shares during the last quarter. Vestal Point Capital LP acquired a new position in Ardelyx during the third quarter worth $3,445,000. Finally, Squarepoint Ops LLC lifted its stake in Ardelyx by 375.9% in the second quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC now owns 460,689 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $3,414,000 after acquiring an additional 363,894 shares during the last quarter. 58.92% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.