Ardelyx, Inc. (NASDAQ:ARDX) Shares Acquired by BNP Paribas Financial Markets

BNP Paribas Financial Markets grew its stake in shares of Ardelyx, Inc. (NASDAQ:ARDX - Free Report) by 54.5% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 280,269 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock after buying an additional 98,882 shares during the period. BNP Paribas Financial Markets owned 0.12% of Ardelyx worth $1,421,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Barclays PLC grew its holdings in shares of Ardelyx by 24.9% in the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 547,325 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $3,770,000 after purchasing an additional 109,285 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its position in shares of Ardelyx by 1.6% during the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 387,144 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock worth $2,667,000 after purchasing an additional 6,093 shares during the last quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC grew its stake in Ardelyx by 41.8% in the fourth quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 54,886 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $278,000 after purchasing an additional 16,182 shares during the last quarter. Inspire Investing LLC grew its stake in Ardelyx by 32.8% in the fourth quarter. Inspire Investing LLC now owns 79,423 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $403,000 after purchasing an additional 19,630 shares during the last quarter. Finally, KBC Group NV grew its stake in Ardelyx by 101.8% in the fourth quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 13,706 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $69,000 after purchasing an additional 6,915 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 58.92% of the company's stock.

Insider Transactions at Ardelyx

In other news, Director David M. Mott purchased 100,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 15th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $3.29 per share, for a total transaction of $329,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 2,496,871 shares of the company's stock, valued at $8,214,705.59. This trade represents a 4.17% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Laura A. Williams sold 6,421 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $4.08, for a total value of $26,197.68. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 402,583 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,642,538.64. The trade was a 1.57% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders acquired 559,106 shares of company stock valued at $2,327,056 and sold 208,477 shares valued at $932,254. Corporate insiders own 4.80% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have issued reports on ARDX. Cantor Fitzgerald upgraded Ardelyx to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 4th. Wall Street Zen lowered Ardelyx from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Monday, May 5th. HC Wainwright restated a "neutral" rating and set a $5.50 price target on shares of Ardelyx in a research note on Friday, February 21st. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH restated a "buy" rating and set a $11.00 price target on shares of Ardelyx in a research note on Friday, March 7th. Finally, Scotiabank began coverage on Ardelyx in a research note on Friday, March 7th. They set a "sector outperform" rating and a $15.00 price target on the stock. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $10.39.

Ardelyx Stock Performance

NASDAQ:ARDX traded up $0.01 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $3.97. The company had a trading volume of 2,574,219 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,455,239. Ardelyx, Inc. has a 1-year low of $3.21 and a 1-year high of $8.06. The firm has a market cap of $949.84 million, a PE ratio of -24.81 and a beta of 0.76. The business's 50 day moving average price is $4.53 and its 200-day moving average price is $5.03. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.87, a current ratio of 4.58 and a quick ratio of 4.31.

Ardelyx (NASDAQ:ARDX - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The biopharmaceutical company reported ($0.17) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.10) by ($0.07). Ardelyx had a negative net margin of 11.73% and a negative return on equity of 24.87%. The company had revenue of $74.11 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $79.40 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted ($0.11) earnings per share. The company's revenue was up 61.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts forecast 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.