Values First Advisors Inc. Sells 15,544 Shares of Ardelyx, Inc. (NASDAQ:ARDX)

Values First Advisors Inc. trimmed its holdings in shares of Ardelyx, Inc. (NASDAQ:ARDX) by 33.6% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 30,738 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock after selling 15,544 shares during the quarter. Values First Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Ardelyx were worth $156,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. purchased a new position in Ardelyx in the 4th quarter worth about $35,000. KBC Group NV increased its position in shares of Ardelyx by 101.8% during the fourth quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 13,706 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $69,000 after acquiring an additional 6,915 shares during the period. CWM LLC raised its stake in shares of Ardelyx by 328.1% during the third quarter. CWM LLC now owns 12,814 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $88,000 after acquiring an additional 9,821 shares in the last quarter. Bleakley Financial Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Ardelyx in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $98,000. Finally, Heck Capital Advisors LLC bought a new position in Ardelyx in the fourth quarter worth approximately $121,000. 58.92% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on ARDX shares. HC Wainwright reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $5.50 target price on shares of Ardelyx in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. Cantor Fitzgerald upgraded Ardelyx to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Piper Sandler increased their target price on shares of Ardelyx from $7.00 to $8.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, January 27th. Jefferies Financial Group reduced their price target on shares of Ardelyx from $11.00 to $8.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, January 2nd. Finally, Citigroup dropped their price objective 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. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $9.42.

Insider Activity at Ardelyx

In related news, CEO Michael Raab sold 41,666 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $5.36, for a total transaction of $223,329.76. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,108,719 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,942,733.84. This represents a 3.62 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Director David M. Mott purchased 199,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 21st. The stock was acquired at an average price of $4.99 per share, with a total value of $993,010.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now owns 1,937,765 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,669,447.35. The trade was a 11.44 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders sold 177,938 shares of company stock valued at $924,239 over the last 90 days. Insiders own 5.90% of the company’s stock.

Ardelyx Stock Down 1.3 %

NASDAQ:ARDX opened at $5.45 on Thursday. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $5.23 and its 200-day simple moving average is $5.63. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64, a quick ratio of 3.87 and a current ratio of 4.03. Ardelyx, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $4.32 and a fifty-two week high of $9.83. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.29 billion, a P/E ratio of -18.17 and a beta of 0.85.

Ardelyx 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.