Ardelyx Sees Unusually Large Options Volume (NASDAQ:ARDX)

Key Points

• Ardelyx, Inc. experienced a significant surge in options trading, with 10,249 call options purchased, indicating a 439% increase from the average volume.
• Insiders sold a total of 20,943 shares on May 20th, which reflects a decrease in their ownership; however, they have also bought a combined 500,000 shares worth approximately $1.79 million in the last ninety days.
• Analysts have set varying price targets for Ardelyx, with a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a price target of $11.50, as multiple firms have provided upgrades and ratings for the company.

Ardelyx, Inc. (NASDAQ:ARDX - Get Free Report) saw unusually large options trading on Tuesday. Stock traders bought 10,249 call options on the company. Thisrepresentsanincreaseof439% compared to the average volume of 1,902 call options.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Piper Sandler lifted their price objective on Ardelyx from $8.00 to $9.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 6th. UBS Group set a $12.00 target price on Ardelyx in a report on Tuesday, August 5th. Raymond James Financial reiterated an "outperform" rating and set a $12.00 target price (up from $11.00) on shares of Ardelyx in a report on Tuesday, August 5th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Ardelyx from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, August 9th. Finally, Citigroup dropped their target price on Ardelyx from $11.00 to $10.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, May 2nd. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Ardelyx has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $11.50.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, insider Laura A. Williams sold 6,421 shares of Ardelyx stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $4.08, for a total value of $26,197.68. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 402,583 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,642,538.64. The trade was a 1.57% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CFO Justin A. Renz sold 7,218 shares of Ardelyx stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $4.08, for a total value of $29,449.44. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 416,089 shares in the company, valued at $1,697,643.12. This represents a 1.71% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 83,477 shares of company stock worth $340,586. Corporate insiders own 4.80% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in ARDX. GF Fund Management CO. LTD. acquired a new position in Ardelyx during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $25,000. DCF Advisers LLC acquired a new position in Ardelyx during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $39,000. Brighton Jones LLC acquired a new position in Ardelyx during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $40,000. Cyndeo Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new position in Ardelyx during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $49,000. Finally, Quarry LP acquired a new position in Ardelyx during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $51,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 58.92% of the company's stock.

Ardelyx Stock Performance

Shares of ARDX traded up $0.13 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $5.97. The stock had a trading volume of 4,597,306 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,373,631. The company has a market cap of $1.44 billion, a PE ratio of -25.96 and a beta of 0.68. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $4.35 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $4.65. The company has a quick ratio of 4.03, a current ratio of 4.30 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.44. Ardelyx has a fifty-two week low of $3.21 and a fifty-two week high of $7.18.

Ardelyx (NASDAQ:ARDX - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Monday, August 4th. The biopharmaceutical company reported ($0.08) EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.13) by $0.05. Ardelyx had a negative return on equity of 36.57% and a negative net margin of 14.60%. The company had revenue of $97.66 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $82.69 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned ($0.07) EPS. The business's revenue was up 23.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts expect that Ardelyx will post -0.18 earnings per share for the current year.

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.