D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. Buys 1,453,369 Shares of Ardelyx, Inc. (NASDAQ:ARDX)

D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Ardelyx, Inc. (NASDAQ:ARDX - Free Report) by 9,499.8% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,468,668 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock after buying an additional 1,453,369 shares during the quarter. D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. owned 0.62% of Ardelyx worth $7,446,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Ardelyx during the fourth quarter worth approximately $35,000. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. purchased a new stake in Ardelyx during the 4th quarter worth about $41,000. Quarry LP acquired a new stake in Ardelyx in the 4th quarter worth about $51,000. Rehmann Capital Advisory Group acquired a new stake in Ardelyx in the 4th quarter worth about $51,000. Finally, Covestor Ltd lifted its stake in shares of Ardelyx by 287.0% in the 4th quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 11,315 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $57,000 after purchasing an additional 8,391 shares in the last quarter. 58.92% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO Michael Raab sold 22,964 shares of Ardelyx stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $5.62, for a total value of $129,057.68. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 1,085,755 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $6,101,943.10. The trade was a 2.07% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CFO Justin A. Renz sold 5,171 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $5.62, for a total value of $29,061.02. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 285,968 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,607,140.16. This trade represents a 1.78% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have acquired 559,106 shares of company stock worth $2,327,056 and have sold 158,076 shares worth $777,555. Corporate insiders own 4.80% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have issued reports on ARDX. Raymond James downgraded Ardelyx from a "strong-buy" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $11.00 price objective on the stock. in a report on Friday, May 2nd. Piper Sandler raised Ardelyx to a "hold" rating in a report on Wednesday, March 12th. Cantor Fitzgerald raised Ardelyx to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 4th. HC Wainwright reissued a "neutral" rating and set a $5.50 price objective on shares of Ardelyx in a report on Friday, February 21st. Finally, StockNews.com lowered Ardelyx from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Monday, May 5th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $10.39.

Ardelyx Trading Up 4.6%

Shares of NASDAQ:ARDX traded up $0.18 during midday trading on Monday, hitting $4.06. The company had a trading volume of 4,992,473 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,456,338. Ardelyx, Inc. has a 12 month low of $3.21 and a 12 month high of $8.06. The company has a current ratio of 4.58, a quick ratio of 4.31 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.87. The stock has a market cap of $971.38 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -25.38 and a beta of 0.76. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $4.67 and a 200 day simple moving average of $5.09.

Ardelyx (NASDAQ:ARDX - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The biopharmaceutical company reported ($0.17) earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.10) by ($0.07). The business had revenue of $74.11 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $79.40 million. Ardelyx had a negative return on equity of 24.87% and a negative net margin of 11.73%. The business's revenue was up 61.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted ($0.11) earnings per share. On average, analysts predict that Ardelyx, Inc. will post -0.18 EPS 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.