Ardelyx, Inc. $ARDX Shares Bought by AQR Capital Management LLC

Key Points

• AQR Capital Management LLC has increased its stake in Ardelyx, Inc. by 188.5%, acquiring an additional 1,027,814 shares, bringing its total ownership to approximately 1.57 million shares valued at $7.7 million.
• Several large investors, including Vanguard Group Inc. and Nuveen LLC, have also increased their holdings in Ardelyx, with institutional investors owning 58.92% of the stock.
• Analysts are optimistic about Ardelyx's future performance, with several issuing "strong-buy" ratings and target prices up to $14.00, while the consensus rating remains at "Buy" with an average target price of $11.70.

AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Ardelyx, Inc. (NASDAQ:ARDX - Free Report) by 188.5% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 1,573,063 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock after acquiring an additional 1,027,814 shares during the period. AQR Capital Management LLC owned 0.66% of Ardelyx worth $7,724,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the business. Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. raised its position in shares of Ardelyx by 86.3% during the 1st quarter. Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. now owns 1,211,000 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock worth $5,946,000 after acquiring an additional 561,000 shares in the last quarter. ADAR1 Capital Management LLC grew its stake in Ardelyx by 1,481.3% during the 1st quarter. ADAR1 Capital Management LLC now owns 490,743 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock worth $2,410,000 after buying an additional 459,708 shares during the last quarter. Focus Partners Advisor Solutions LLC purchased a new position in Ardelyx during the 1st quarter worth approximately $56,000. Cubist Systematic Strategies LLC grew its stake in Ardelyx by 19.4% during the 1st quarter. Cubist Systematic Strategies LLC now owns 448,407 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock worth $2,202,000 after buying an additional 72,940 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Panagora Asset Management Inc. grew its stake in Ardelyx by 52.8% during the 1st quarter. Panagora Asset Management Inc. now owns 682,231 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock worth $3,350,000 after buying an additional 235,804 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 58.92% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on the company. Raymond James Financial assumed coverage on Ardelyx in a research note on Wednesday, September 3rd. They set a "strong-buy" rating and a $14.00 price target on the stock. UBS Group set a $12.00 price target on Ardelyx in a research note on Tuesday, August 5th. Wedbush restated an "outperform" rating and set a $14.00 price target (up previously from $13.00) on shares of Ardelyx in a research note on Tuesday, August 5th. Piper Sandler raised their price target on Ardelyx from $8.00 to $9.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 6th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded Ardelyx from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, August 9th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have issued a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus price target of $11.70.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Eric Duane Foster sold 15,308 shares of Ardelyx stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $5.93, for a total transaction of $90,776.44. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 301,498 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,787,883.14. The trade was a 4.83% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Elizabeth A. Grammer sold 5,841 shares of Ardelyx stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $5.93, for a total value of $34,637.13. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 305,890 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,813,927.70. This represents a 1.87% 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 valued at $996,917 in the last 90 days. Insiders own 4.80% of the company's stock.

Ardelyx Price Performance

Shares of Ardelyx stock traded down $0.10 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $6.44. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,585,374 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,604,979. 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, Inc. has a 12-month low of $3.21 and a 12-month high of $7.18. The company has a market capitalization of $1.55 billion, a P/E ratio of -27.98 and a beta of 0.73. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $5.42 and a 200-day moving average price of $4.75.

Ardelyx (NASDAQ:ARDX - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, August 4th. The biopharmaceutical company reported ($0.08) earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates 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 firm had revenue of $97.66 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $82.69 million. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned ($0.07) earnings per share. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 23.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Ardelyx, Inc. will post -0.18 EPS for the current year.

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.