Cubist Systematic Strategies LLC Raises Stock Holdings in Ardelyx, Inc. $ARDX

Key Points

• Cubist Systematic Strategies LLC increased its stake in Ardelyx, Inc. by 19.4%, acquiring an additional 72,940 shares in the first quarter, bringing its total holdings to 448,407 shares valued at approximately $2.2 million.
• Ardelyx reported a $0.08 EPS for the recent quarter, exceeding analyst expectations and showing a 23% year-over-year revenue growth with total revenue reaching $97.66 million.
• Analysts have raised their price targets for Ardelyx, with Piper Sandler setting a price objective of $9.00 and HC Wainwright introducing a $10.00 target, indicating market confidence in the company's growth potential.

Cubist Systematic Strategies LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Ardelyx, Inc. (NASDAQ:ARDX - Free Report) by 19.4% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 448,407 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock after buying an additional 72,940 shares during the period. Cubist Systematic Strategies LLC owned approximately 0.19% of Ardelyx worth $2,202,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Panagora Asset Management Inc. increased its position in Ardelyx by 52.8% during the 1st quarter. Panagora Asset Management Inc. now owns 682,231 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $3,350,000 after buying an additional 235,804 shares in the last quarter. Trexquant Investment LP increased its position in Ardelyx by 92.8% during the 1st quarter. Trexquant Investment LP now owns 1,747,733 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $8,581,000 after buying an additional 841,422 shares in the last quarter. Ieq Capital LLC acquired a new position in Ardelyx during the 1st quarter valued at about $1,051,000. FORA Capital LLC acquired a new position in Ardelyx during the 1st quarter valued at about $235,000. Finally, Walleye Capital LLC acquired a new position in Ardelyx during the 1st quarter valued at about $709,000. 58.92% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

ARDX has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Wall Street Zen raised Ardelyx from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, August 9th. Wedbush reissued an "outperform" rating and issued a $14.00 price objective (up from $13.00) on shares of Ardelyx in a report on Tuesday, August 5th. HC Wainwright started coverage on Ardelyx in a report on Wednesday, June 18th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $10.00 price objective on the stock. UBS Group set a $12.00 price objective on Ardelyx in a report on Tuesday, August 5th. Finally, Raymond James Financial started coverage on Ardelyx in a report on Wednesday, September 3rd. They issued a "strong-buy" rating and a $14.00 price objective on the stock. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have issued a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $11.70.

Ardelyx Stock Performance

Shares of ARDX traded down $0.07 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $6.61. The company had a trading volume of 2,350,061 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,233,876. Ardelyx, Inc. has a 52-week low of $3.21 and a 52-week high of $7.18. The company has a quick ratio of 4.03, a current ratio of 4.30 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.44. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.59 billion, a P/E ratio of -28.74 and a beta of 0.74. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $5.37 and a two-hundred day moving average of $4.75.

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 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 quarter in the prior year, the business earned ($0.07) earnings per share. The company's revenue was up 23.0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts expect that Ardelyx, Inc. will post -0.18 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Ardelyx

In other news, insider Laura A. Williams sold 80,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $6.12, for a total value of $489,600.00. Following the sale, the insider owned 366,322 shares in the company, valued at $2,241,890.64. This represents a 17.92% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Mike Kelliher sold 5,417 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $5.93, for a total value of $32,122.81. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 276,741 shares in the company, valued at $1,641,074.13. The trade was a 1.92% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 165,551 shares of company stock valued at $996,917. 4.80% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.