Invesco Ltd. Increases Holdings in Ardelyx, Inc. $ARDX

Key Points

• Invesco Ltd. increased its shareholding in Ardelyx, Inc. by 42.1%, acquiring an additional 52,584 shares and now holds a total of 177,529 shares valued at approximately $872,000.
• Analysts have rated Ardelyx positively, with both Raymond James Financial and HC Wainwright issuing "strong-buy" and "buy" ratings while also setting target prices ranging from $10.00 to $14.00.
• Ardelyx recorded a 23.0% increase in revenue year-over-year, reporting $97.66 million in revenue for the last quarter, surpassing analyst estimates.

Invesco Ltd. increased its holdings in Ardelyx, Inc. (NASDAQ:ARDX - Free Report) by 42.1% in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 177,529 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock after acquiring an additional 52,584 shares during the quarter. Invesco Ltd. owned about 0.07% of Ardelyx worth $872,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Tudor Investment Corp ET AL bought a new position in shares of Ardelyx during the fourth quarter valued at $642,000. Northern Trust Corp lifted its position in shares of Ardelyx by 2.4% during the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 2,150,974 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $10,905,000 after buying an additional 50,441 shares in the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Ardelyx during the 4th quarter valued at about $211,000. BNP Paribas Financial Markets lifted its position in shares of Ardelyx by 54.5% during the 4th quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 280,269 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $1,421,000 after buying an additional 98,882 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bayesian Capital Management LP purchased a new position in shares of Ardelyx during the 4th quarter valued at about $256,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 58.92% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

ARDX has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Raymond James Financial initiated coverage on Ardelyx in a research report on Wednesday, September 3rd. They set a "strong-buy" rating and a $14.00 price objective on the stock. Wall Street Zen raised Ardelyx from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, August 9th. Piper Sandler lifted their price objective on Ardelyx from $8.00 to $9.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 6th. HC Wainwright assumed coverage on Ardelyx in a research report on Wednesday, June 18th. They set a "buy" rating and a $10.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Wedbush reissued an "outperform" rating and set a $14.00 target price (up previously from $13.00) on shares of Ardelyx in a research report on Tuesday, August 5th. Two research 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 MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus price target of $11.70.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Elizabeth A. Grammer sold 5,841 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $5.93, for a total transaction of $34,637.13. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 305,890 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,813,927.70. This trade represents a 1.87% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Michael Raab sold 45,687 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $5.93, for a total value of $270,923.91. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 1,502,250 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,908,342.50. The trade was a 2.95% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 165,551 shares of company stock valued at $996,917 over the last 90 days. Company insiders own 4.80% of the company's stock.

Ardelyx Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:ARDX traded up $0.06 during trading on Monday, hitting $6.58. The stock had a trading volume of 1,484,403 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,656,306. Ardelyx, Inc. has a 12-month low of $3.21 and a 12-month high of $7.18. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.59 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -28.76 and a beta of 0.73. 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 50-day simple moving average of $5.12 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $4.69.

Ardelyx (NASDAQ:ARDX - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Monday, August 4th. The biopharmaceutical company reported ($0.08) EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.13) by $0.05. The firm had revenue of $97.66 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $82.69 million. Ardelyx had a negative return on equity of 36.57% and a negative net margin of 14.60%.Ardelyx's revenue for the quarter was up 23.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned ($0.07) earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts expect that Ardelyx, Inc. will post -0.18 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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.