First Trust Advisors LP Has $1.36 Million Stock Position in Ardelyx, Inc. (NASDAQ:ARDX)

First Trust Advisors LP trimmed its position in shares of Ardelyx, Inc. (NASDAQ:ARDX - Free Report) by 53.2% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 268,924 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock after selling 305,383 shares during the period. First Trust Advisors LP owned approximately 0.11% of Ardelyx worth $1,363,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its stake in shares of Ardelyx by 1.6% during the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 387,144 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock worth $2,667,000 after buying an additional 6,093 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Ardelyx by 5.6% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 14,362,659 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $72,819,000 after purchasing an additional 767,111 shares during the last quarter. Barclays PLC raised its holdings in shares of Ardelyx by 24.9% in the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 547,325 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $3,770,000 after purchasing an additional 109,285 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Ardelyx by 5.0% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,035,135 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock worth $10,318,000 after purchasing an additional 96,357 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Rhumbline Advisers grew its stake in shares of Ardelyx by 1.9% during the fourth quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 326,124 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock worth $1,653,000 after purchasing an additional 6,070 shares in the last quarter. 58.92% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Ardelyx Stock Performance

Shares of ARDX traded down $0.02 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $3.62. 5,437,990 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 4,380,254. The business's 50 day moving average price is $4.85 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $5.18. Ardelyx, Inc. has a 1-year low of $3.50 and a 1-year high of $8.14. The firm has a market capitalization of $866.10 million, a PE ratio of -22.63 and a beta of 0.76. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.87, a quick ratio of 4.31 and a current ratio of 4.58.

Ardelyx (NASDAQ:ARDX - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The biopharmaceutical company reported ($0.17) earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate 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 net margin of 11.73% and a negative return on equity of 24.87%. The firm's revenue was up 61.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned ($0.11) EPS. Equities research analysts predict that Ardelyx, Inc. will post -0.18 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Ardelyx

In related news, CFO Justin A. Renz sold 5,171 shares of Ardelyx stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $5.62, for a total transaction of $29,061.02. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 285,968 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,607,140.16. This trade represents a 1.78 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director David M. Mott acquired 381,377 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 2nd. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $4.22 per share, for a total transaction of $1,609,410.94. Following the transaction, the director now owns 2,396,871 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $10,114,795.62. This represents a 18.92 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 158,076 shares of company stock valued at $777,555. Company insiders own 5.90% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts recently issued reports on the company. Scotiabank assumed coverage on Ardelyx in a research report on Friday, March 7th. They issued a "sector outperform" rating and a $15.00 target price for the company. Raymond James cut Ardelyx from a "strong-buy" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $11.00 price target on the stock. in a report on Friday, May 2nd. Cantor Fitzgerald upgraded Ardelyx to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, March 4th. HC Wainwright restated a "neutral" rating and set a $5.50 target price on shares of Ardelyx in a research report on Friday, February 21st. Finally, Piper Sandler upgraded Ardelyx to a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 12th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $10.39.

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.