Rubric Capital Management LP Makes New $11.15 Million Investment in Ardelyx, Inc. $ARDX

Key Points

• Rubric Capital Management acquired 1.86 million Ardelyx shares worth approximately $11.15 million, giving it a 0.75% stake. Institutional investors collectively own 58.92% of the company.
• Analyst sentiment remains mixed but leans positive: Ardelyx has an overall “Moderate Buy” rating and an average price target of $15.73, despite one recent downgrade to “strong sell.”
• Ardelyx reported quarterly revenue of $94.47 million, up 27.5% year over year, but missed EPS expectations with a loss of $0.15 per share. The stock opened at $5.06 and remains unprofitable, with a negative net margin of 13.58%.

Rubric Capital Management LP acquired a new stake in shares of Ardelyx, Inc. (NASDAQ:ARDX - Free Report) in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor acquired 1,860,896 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock, valued at approximately $11,147,000. Rubric Capital Management LP owned about 0.75% of Ardelyx at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in ARDX. First Horizon Corp grew its stake in Ardelyx by 120.4% during the 4th quarter. First Horizon Corp now owns 7,906 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock worth $46,000 after buying an additional 4,319 shares during the last quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. purchased a new stake in Ardelyx in the fourth quarter valued at about $60,000. Swiss Life Asset Management Ltd purchased a new stake in Ardelyx in the third quarter valued at about $57,000. Krilogy Financial LLC acquired a new stake in Ardelyx in the first quarter worth about $70,000. Finally, Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. grew its stake in shares of Ardelyx by 26.7% during the fourth quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 11,807 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock worth $69,000 after acquiring an additional 2,491 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 58.92% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

ARDX has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Zacks Research lowered shares of Ardelyx from a "hold" rating to a "strong sell" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 22nd. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH began coverage on shares of Ardelyx in a research note on Tuesday, June 16th. They set a "buy" rating and a $16.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Weiss Ratings cut shares of Ardelyx from a "sell (d-)" rating to a "sell (e+)" rating in a report on Monday, June 29th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have issued a Buy rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $15.73.

Ardelyx Stock Performance

Shares of ARDX stock opened at $5.06 on Tuesday. The stock has a market cap of $1.25 billion, a PE ratio of -22.00 and a beta of 0.61. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $5.61 and a 200-day simple moving average of $6.20. The company has a quick ratio of 3.28, a current ratio of 3.49 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.37. Ardelyx, Inc. has a 52-week low of $4.07 and a 52-week high of $8.40.

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

Insider Activity at Ardelyx

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

About Ardelyx

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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