Ardelyx, Inc. $ARDX Shares Bought by Millennium Management LLC

Key Points

• Millennium Management LLC significantly increased its stake in Ardelyx, Inc. by 118.2% during the first quarter, now owning approximately 6.47 million shares valued at $31.7 million.
• Ardelyx reported a quarterly revenue of $97.66 million, surpassing analyst expectations and marking a 23% increase year-over-year.
• Analysts are optimistic about Ardelyx, with an average target price of $11.70, reflecting a consensus rating of "Buy" from eight investment analysts.

Millennium Management LLC raised its stake in Ardelyx, Inc. (NASDAQ:ARDX - Free Report) by 118.2% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 6,465,262 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock after purchasing an additional 3,501,782 shares during the quarter. Millennium Management LLC owned 2.70% of Ardelyx worth $31,744,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. GF Fund Management CO. LTD. purchased a new position in shares of Ardelyx in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $25,000. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its stake in shares of Ardelyx by 1,342.0% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 5,912 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $290,000 after buying an additional 5,502 shares in the last quarter. Cyndeo Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Ardelyx in the first quarter valued at approximately $49,000. Focus Partners Advisor Solutions LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Ardelyx in the first quarter valued at approximately $56,000. Finally, Merit Financial Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Ardelyx in the first quarter valued at approximately $75,000. 58.92% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CFO Justin A. Renz sold 7,037 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $5.93, for a total value of $41,729.41. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 409,052 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,425,678.36. The trade was a 1.69% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Laura A. Williams sold 80,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $6.12, for a total value of $489,600.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 366,322 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,241,890.64. This trade represents a 17.92% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 165,551 shares of company stock valued at $996,917. Company insiders own 4.80% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts recently weighed in on ARDX shares. HC Wainwright started coverage on Ardelyx in a research note on Wednesday, June 18th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $10.00 price target on the stock. Wedbush restated an "outperform" rating and issued a $14.00 price target (up from $13.00) on shares of Ardelyx in a research note on Tuesday, August 5th. Raymond James Financial started coverage on Ardelyx in a research note on Wednesday, September 3rd. They issued a "strong-buy" rating and a $14.00 price target on the stock. Piper Sandler lifted their price target on Ardelyx from $8.00 to $9.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 6th. Finally, UBS Group set a $12.00 price target on Ardelyx in a research note on Tuesday, August 5th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have assigned a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Ardelyx presently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $11.70.

Ardelyx Price Performance

ARDX stock traded down $0.11 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $6.42. 2,878,931 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,082,082. The stock's 50-day moving average price is $5.46 and its 200-day moving average price is $4.77. The stock has a market cap of $1.55 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -27.91 and a beta of 0.74. Ardelyx, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $3.21 and a fifty-two week high of $7.18. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.44, a quick ratio of 4.03 and a current ratio of 4.30.

Ardelyx (NASDAQ:ARDX - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, August 4th. The biopharmaceutical company reported ($0.08) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.13) by $0.05. The firm had revenue of $97.66 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations 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 was up 23.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted ($0.07) earnings per share. Research analysts predict that Ardelyx, Inc. will post -0.18 earnings per share for the current 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.