Two Seas Capital LP Purchases 265,000 Shares of Ardelyx, Inc. $ARDX

Key Points

• Two Seas Capital LP has increased its stake in Ardelyx, Inc. by 14.3%, bringing its total ownership to approximately 2.12 million shares, valued at about $10.4 million.
• Ardelyx recently reported a negative earnings per share (EPS) of ($0.08), which was better than analyst expectations of ($0.13), and revenue increased by 23.0% year-over-year.
• Analysts have set a new price target for Ardelyx, with estimates ranging from $9.00 to $14.00, indicating a consensus rating of "Buy."

Two Seas Capital LP increased its position in shares of Ardelyx, Inc. (NASDAQ:ARDX - Free Report) by 14.3% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 2,120,337 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock after buying an additional 265,000 shares during the period. Ardelyx accounts for approximately 0.3% of Two Seas Capital LP's holdings, making the stock its 14th biggest position. Two Seas Capital LP owned about 0.89% of Ardelyx worth $10,411,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Janus Henderson Group PLC boosted its holdings in shares of Ardelyx by 13.3% during the 4th quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 24,387,941 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock worth $123,587,000 after buying an additional 2,858,061 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Ardelyx by 4.4% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 14,997,234 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock worth $73,636,000 after buying an additional 634,575 shares during the period. Millennium Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Ardelyx by 118.2% during the 1st quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 6,465,262 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock worth $31,744,000 after buying an additional 3,501,782 shares during the period. Nuveen LLC bought a new stake in shares of Ardelyx during the 1st quarter worth $16,735,000. Finally, Northern Trust Corp boosted its holdings in shares of Ardelyx by 1.0% during the 1st quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 2,172,819 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock worth $10,669,000 after buying an additional 21,845 shares during the period. 58.92% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms recently issued reports on ARDX. UBS Group set a $12.00 price objective on shares of Ardelyx in a report on Tuesday, August 5th. Piper Sandler upped their price objective on shares of Ardelyx from $8.00 to $9.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday, August 6th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Ardelyx from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, August 9th. Raymond James Financial started coverage on shares of Ardelyx in a report on Wednesday, September 3rd. They issued a "strong-buy" rating and a $14.00 price target for the company. Finally, HC Wainwright started coverage on shares of Ardelyx in a report on Wednesday, June 18th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $10.00 price target for the company. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have given a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $11.70.

Ardelyx Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:ARDX traded down $0.09 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $6.60. 934,897 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 4,623,468. 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 company's 50 day simple moving average is $5.33 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $4.74. Ardelyx, Inc. has a 12 month low of $3.21 and a 12 month high of $7.18. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.59 billion, a PE ratio of -28.73 and a beta of 0.74.

Ardelyx (NASDAQ:ARDX - Get Free Report) last posted its 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. The business had revenue of $97.66 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $82.69 million. Ardelyx had a negative net margin of 14.60% and a negative return on equity of 36.57%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 23.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted ($0.07) earnings per share. Equities research analysts expect that Ardelyx, Inc. will post -0.18 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Ardelyx news, insider Laura A. Williams sold 80,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $6.12, for a total transaction of $489,600.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly 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 transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director David M. Mott bought 200,000 shares of Ardelyx stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 16th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $3.63 per share, for a total transaction of $726,000.00. Following the purchase, the director directly owned 2,896,871 shares in the company, valued at $10,515,641.73. This represents a 7.42% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 165,551 shares of company stock worth $996,917 in the last 90 days. 4.80% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.