Aberdeen Group plc Raises Stake in Ardelyx, Inc. $ARDX

Key Points

• Aberdeen Group plc increased its stake in Ardelyx, Inc. by 30.6% during the second quarter, owning 1,112,476 shares valued at approximately $4.36 million.
• Wall Street analysts are optimistic about Ardelyx, with a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $11.70, with several firms issuing "outperform" and "strong-buy" ratings.
• Insider transactions saw CFO Justin Renz and CEO Michael Raab both selling significant shares of the company, which could indicate shifting confidence among top executives.

Aberdeen Group plc raised its position in shares of Ardelyx, Inc. (NASDAQ:ARDX - Free Report) by 30.6% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 1,112,476 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock after purchasing an additional 260,757 shares during the quarter. Aberdeen Group plc owned 0.46% of Ardelyx worth $4,361,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC grew its stake in shares of Ardelyx by 21.9% in the second quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 65,030 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock worth $278,000 after acquiring an additional 11,694 shares during the period. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Ardelyx by 79.6% in the second quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 233,248 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock worth $914,000 after buying an additional 103,385 shares during the last quarter. Rhumbline Advisers lifted its holdings in Ardelyx by 4.1% during the first quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 339,436 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $1,667,000 after purchasing an additional 13,312 shares in the last quarter. Strs Ohio purchased a new position in Ardelyx during the first quarter valued at approximately $135,000. Finally, Focus Partners Wealth purchased a new position in Ardelyx during the first quarter valued at approximately $72,000. 58.92% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have recently commented on ARDX shares. Wedbush reissued an "outperform" rating and issued a $14.00 target price (up previously from $13.00) on shares of Ardelyx in a report on Tuesday, August 5th. Raymond James Financial started coverage on shares of Ardelyx in a research report on Wednesday, September 3rd. They set a "strong-buy" rating and a $14.00 price objective on the stock. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Ardelyx from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, August 9th. Weiss Ratings restated a "sell (d-)" rating on shares of Ardelyx in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Finally, Piper Sandler increased their target price on shares of Ardelyx from $8.00 to $9.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday, August 6th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have assigned a Buy rating, one has assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $11.70.

Insider Transactions at Ardelyx

In other Ardelyx news, CFO Justin A. Renz sold 7,037 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $5.93, for a total transaction of $41,729.41. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 409,052 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,425,678.36. This trade represents a 1.69% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Michael Raab sold 45,687 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $5.93, for a total transaction of $270,923.91. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 1,502,250 shares of the company's stock, valued at $8,908,342.50. This represents a 2.95% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 165,551 shares of company stock worth $996,917 over the last ninety days. 4.80% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Ardelyx Stock Performance

ARDX stock opened at $5.05 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $1.22 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -21.96 and a beta of 0.67. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.44, a quick ratio of 4.03 and a current ratio of 4.30. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $5.89 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $4.81. Ardelyx, Inc. has a one year low of $3.21 and a one year high of $6.78.

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

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