UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC Grows Position in Ardelyx, Inc. (NASDAQ:ARDX)

UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC raised its stake in Ardelyx, Inc. (NASDAQ:ARDX - Free Report) by 32.6% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 578,256 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock after buying an additional 142,294 shares during the period. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC owned 0.24% of Ardelyx worth $2,932,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Janus Henderson Group PLC boosted its position in Ardelyx by 13.3% during the 4th quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 24,387,941 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock worth $123,587,000 after buying an additional 2,858,061 shares during the period. Two Seas Capital LP bought a new position in shares of Ardelyx during the fourth quarter valued at $9,407,000. Rock Springs Capital Management LP bought a new position in shares of Ardelyx during the fourth quarter valued at $7,421,000. D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Ardelyx by 9,499.8% during the fourth quarter. D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. now owns 1,468,668 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock worth $7,446,000 after purchasing an additional 1,453,369 shares during the period. Finally, Point72 Asset Management L.P. bought a new stake in shares of Ardelyx in the fourth quarter worth $6,762,000. Institutional investors own 58.92% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts recently issued reports on ARDX shares. Scotiabank began coverage on Ardelyx in a research report on Friday, March 7th. They set a "sector outperform" rating and a $15.00 target price for the company. Wall Street Zen cut Ardelyx from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Monday, May 5th. Citigroup cut their price objective on Ardelyx from $11.00 to $10.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $11.00 target price on shares of Ardelyx in a report on Friday, March 7th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald raised shares of Ardelyx to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 4th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $10.39.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director David M. Mott acquired 100,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 15th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $3.29 per share, for a total transaction of $329,000.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now owns 2,496,871 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $8,214,705.59. This trade represents a 4.17% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Michael Raab sold 41,666 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Friday, April 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $4.59, for a total value of $191,246.94. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,615,587 shares of the company's stock, valued at $7,415,544.33. The trade was a 2.51% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 166,809 shares of company stock valued at $708,914 over the last ninety days. 4.80% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Ardelyx Trading Up 2.2%

NASDAQ ARDX traded up $0.08 during trading hours on Monday, hitting $3.76. 5,282,040 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 4,498,639. The firm has a market cap of $899.60 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -23.50 and a beta of 0.59. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $4.27 and a 200 day simple moving average of $4.95. The company has a current ratio of 4.58, a quick ratio of 4.31 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.87. Ardelyx, Inc. has a 1-year low of $3.21 and a 1-year high of $8.06.

Ardelyx (NASDAQ:ARDX - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The biopharmaceutical company reported ($0.17) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.10) by ($0.07). The business had revenue of $74.11 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $79.40 million. Ardelyx had a negative return on equity of 24.87% and a negative net margin of 11.73%. Ardelyx's quarterly revenue was up 61.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted ($0.11) earnings per share. On average, equities analysts forecast that Ardelyx, Inc. will post -0.18 EPS 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.