Panagora Asset Management Inc. Has $3.35 Million Stock Holdings in Ardelyx, Inc. $ARDX

Key Points

• Panagora Asset Management Inc. increased its holdings in Ardelyx, Inc. by 52.8%, acquiring a total of 682,231 shares valued at approximately $3.35 million.
• Several institutional investors, including Nuveen LLC and D. E. Shaw & Co., have significantly adjusted their positions in Ardelyx, reflecting growing interest in the company, with hedge funds now owning 58.92% of its stock.
• Ardelyx recently reported earnings for the quarter, beating analysts' expectations with a revenue of $97.66 million, and has a consensus target price of $11.50 among analysts.

Panagora Asset Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Ardelyx, Inc. (NASDAQ:ARDX - Free Report) by 52.8% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 682,231 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock after buying an additional 235,804 shares during the period. Panagora Asset Management Inc. owned about 0.29% of Ardelyx worth $3,350,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in ARDX. GF Fund Management CO. LTD. acquired a new stake in shares of Ardelyx during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,000. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its stake in Ardelyx by 1,342.0% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 5,912 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $290,000 after purchasing an additional 5,502 shares during the period. Cyndeo Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of Ardelyx during the first quarter valued at $49,000. Crestline Management LP acquired a new position in Ardelyx during the fourth quarter valued at $64,000. Finally, Merit Financial Group LLC purchased a new stake in Ardelyx in the 1st quarter worth about $75,000. 58.92% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

ARDX has been the subject of several research reports. 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 report on Wednesday, August 6th. UBS Group set a $12.00 price target on shares of Ardelyx in a report on Tuesday, August 5th. HC Wainwright initiated coverage on shares of Ardelyx in a research note on Wednesday, June 18th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $10.00 price target on the stock. Raymond James Financial started coverage on Ardelyx in a research report on Wednesday. They set a "strong-buy" rating and a $14.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded Ardelyx from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, August 9th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have given a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Ardelyx has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $11.70.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider Laura A. Williams sold 80,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $6.12, for a total transaction of $489,600.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 366,322 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,241,890.64. The trade was a 17.92% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through 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 $8,908,342.50. This trade represents a 2.95% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 165,551 shares of company stock valued at $996,917 in the last ninety days. Company insiders own 4.80% of the company's stock.

Ardelyx Stock Performance

Ardelyx stock traded down $0.05 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $6.52. 3,006,810 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,340,668. Ardelyx, Inc. has a 12 month low of $3.21 and a 12 month high of $7.18. The company has a current ratio of 4.30, a quick ratio of 4.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.44. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $5.12 and a 200 day moving average of $4.69. The firm has a market cap of $1.57 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -28.35 and a beta of 0.73.

Ardelyx (NASDAQ:ARDX - Get Free Report) last posted 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 business had revenue of $97.66 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $82.69 million. Ardelyx had a negative net margin of 14.60% and a negative return on equity of 36.57%. Ardelyx's quarterly revenue was up 23.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned ($0.07) EPS. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Ardelyx, Inc. will post -0.18 earnings per share for the current year.

Ardelyx Company 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.