Knott David M Jr Sells 118,463 Shares of Ardelyx, Inc. (NASDAQ:ARDX)

Key Points

• Knott David M Jr sold 118,463 shares of Ardelyx, Inc., reducing its stake by 19.3%, leaving it with 493,807 shares valued at approximately $2.43 million.
• Ardelyx reported a revenue of $97.66 million for the recent quarter, exceeding expectations and marking a 23% increase compared to the same period last year.
• Analysts have mixed sentiments on Ardelyx, with price targets varying from $9.00 to $14.00, and an average rating of "Moderate Buy" for the stock.

Knott David M Jr decreased its stake in Ardelyx, Inc. (NASDAQ:ARDX - Free Report) by 19.3% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 493,807 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock after selling 118,463 shares during the quarter. Ardelyx makes up 1.1% of Knott David M Jr's portfolio, making the stock its 16th biggest holding. Knott David M Jr owned 0.21% of Ardelyx worth $2,425,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in ARDX. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Ardelyx by 0.4% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 5,509,730 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock worth $27,941,000 after acquiring an additional 21,988 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. increased its stake in Ardelyx by 9.2% during the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 124,945 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $633,000 after purchasing an additional 10,514 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Ardelyx in the fourth quarter worth $930,000. Capital Fund Management S.A. lifted its stake in shares of Ardelyx by 226.8% during the fourth quarter. Capital Fund Management S.A. now owns 313,064 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock worth $1,587,000 after buying an additional 217,253 shares during the period. Finally, Covestor Ltd grew its holdings in shares of Ardelyx by 287.0% during the fourth quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 11,315 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $57,000 after buying an additional 8,391 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 58.92% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Ardelyx news, CEO Michael Raab sold 46,817 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $4.08, for a total transaction of $191,013.36. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 1,547,937 shares of the company's stock, valued at $6,315,582.96. This trade represents a 2.94% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CFO Justin A. Renz sold 7,218 shares of Ardelyx stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $4.08, for a total value of $29,449.44. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 416,089 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,697,643.12. This represents a 1.71% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders acquired 500,000 shares of company stock worth $1,793,000 and sold 83,477 shares worth $340,586. 4.80% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Ardelyx Stock Performance

NASDAQ:ARDX opened at $5.21 on Monday. Ardelyx, Inc. has a 1-year low of $3.21 and a 1-year high of $7.18. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.26 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -22.65 and a beta of 0.68. The company's 50-day moving average is $4.16 and its two-hundred day moving average is $4.63. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.44, a current ratio of 4.30 and a quick ratio of 4.03.

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, beating analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.13) by $0.05. Ardelyx had a negative net margin of 14.60% and a negative return on equity of 36.57%. The company had revenue of $97.66 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $82.69 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted ($0.07) earnings per share. Ardelyx's revenue for the quarter was up 23.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts forecast that Ardelyx, Inc. will post -0.18 EPS for the current year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have weighed in on the company. Raymond James Financial reiterated an "outperform" rating and set a $12.00 price target (up previously from $11.00) on shares of Ardelyx in a research note on Tuesday, August 5th. Citigroup dropped their target price on Ardelyx from $11.00 to $10.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. Piper Sandler raised their price target on shares of Ardelyx from $8.00 to $9.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 6th. Wall Street Zen raised Ardelyx from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday. Finally, Wedbush reiterated an "outperform" rating and issued a $14.00 target price (up from $13.00) on shares of Ardelyx in a research note on Tuesday, August 5th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $11.50.

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.

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