First Trust Advisors LP Boosts Holdings in Ardelyx, Inc. $ARDX

Key Points

• First Trust Advisors increased its Ardelyx stake by 44.6% in the first quarter, adding 462,306 shares to own 1.50 million shares valued at approximately $9.0 million. Institutional investors collectively own 58.92% of ARDX.
• Ardelyx reported quarterly revenue of $94.47 million, up 27.5% year over year and above estimates, but its adjusted loss of $0.15 per share missed expectations by $0.02.
• Analyst sentiment remains mixed but leans positive: MarketBeat reports a “Moderate Buy” consensus and an average price target of $15.73, while recent ratings included a buy initiation with a $16 target and downgrades from Zacks Research and Weiss Ratings.

First Trust Advisors LP boosted its holdings in shares of Ardelyx, Inc. (NASDAQ:ARDX - Free Report) by 44.6% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,498,798 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock after buying an additional 462,306 shares during the quarter. First Trust Advisors LP owned approximately 0.61% of Ardelyx worth $8,978,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. AIGH Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Ardelyx by 479.3% in the fourth quarter. AIGH Capital Management LLC now owns 1,150,000 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $6,704,000 after purchasing an additional 951,500 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Ardelyx by 3.3% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 18,979,483 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock worth $110,650,000 after buying an additional 610,162 shares in the last quarter. Tudor Investment Corp ET AL bought a new position in Ardelyx in the 3rd quarter valued at $688,000. Eversept Partners LP boosted its position in Ardelyx by 20.0% in the 4th quarter. Eversept Partners LP now owns 1,715,129 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $9,999,000 after buying an additional 285,752 shares during the last quarter. Finally, UBS Group AG increased its stake in shares of Ardelyx by 25.4% in the 4th quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 578,344 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $3,372,000 after buying an additional 117,024 shares during the period. 58.92% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other Ardelyx news, insider Mike Kelliher sold 7,248 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $6.27, for a total value of $45,444.96. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 357,418 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,241,010.86. This represents a 1.99% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Eric Duane Foster sold 7,998 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $6.27, for a total transaction of $50,147.46. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 417,972 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,620,684.44. This trade represents a 1.88% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold a total of 24,572 shares of company stock valued at $154,066 over the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 5.30% of the company's stock.

Ardelyx Stock Performance

ARDX stock opened at $4.95 on Friday. Ardelyx, Inc. has a twelve month low of $4.07 and a twelve month high of $8.40. The company has a quick ratio of 3.28, a current ratio of 3.49 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.37. The company has a market cap of $1.22 billion, a P/E ratio of -21.52 and a beta of 0.61. The business's fifty day moving average is $5.51 and its 200-day moving average is $6.15.

Ardelyx (NASDAQ:ARDX - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 30th. The biopharmaceutical company reported ($0.15) EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.13) by ($0.02). Ardelyx had a negative return on equity of 38.11% and a negative net margin of 13.58%.The company had revenue of $94.47 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $92.78 million. During the same period last year, the firm earned ($0.17) earnings per share. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 27.5% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts forecast that Ardelyx, Inc. will post -0.08 EPS for the current year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on ARDX. Zacks Research downgraded Ardelyx from a "hold" rating to a "strong sell" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 22nd. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH started coverage on Ardelyx in a report on Tuesday, June 16th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $16.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Weiss Ratings lowered Ardelyx from a "sell (d-)" rating to a "sell (e+)" rating in a research report on Monday, June 29th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have assigned a Buy rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $15.73.

Ardelyx Company Profile

Ardelyx, Inc NASDAQ: ARDX is a clinical‐stage biopharmaceutical company focused on discovering, developing and commercializing targeted small molecule drugs for cardio‐renal and gastrointestinal diseases. The company's lead marketed product, tenapanor (sold under the brand name XPHOZAH in the United States), is approved for the treatment of hyperphosphatemia in patients with chronic kidney disease on dialysis. Ardelyx's proprietary approach targets epithelial transporters in the gastrointestinal tract, offering localized activity with limited systemic exposure.

Beyond tenapanor, Ardelyx's development pipeline includes treatments designed to address other complications in kidney disease and related metabolic disorders.

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