Ardelyx, Inc. (NASDAQ:ARDX) Shares Sold by First Trust Advisors LP

First Trust Advisors LP lessened its position in shares of Ardelyx, Inc. (NASDAQ:ARDX - Free Report) by 53.2% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 268,924 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock after selling 305,383 shares during the quarter. First Trust Advisors LP owned approximately 0.11% of Ardelyx worth $1,363,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in Ardelyx by 5.6% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 14,362,659 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $72,819,000 after buying an additional 767,111 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Ardelyx by 0.4% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 5,509,730 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock worth $27,941,000 after buying an additional 21,988 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its stake 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 buying an additional 96,357 shares during the period. Jones Financial Companies Lllp raised its stake in shares of Ardelyx by 67.2% during the 4th quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 1,452,176 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock worth $7,363,000 after buying an additional 583,550 shares during the period. Finally, Trexquant Investment LP raised its stake in shares of Ardelyx by 344.7% during the 4th quarter. Trexquant Investment LP now owns 906,311 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock worth $4,595,000 after buying an additional 702,487 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 58.92% of the company's stock.

Ardelyx Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:ARDX traded down $0.01 during midday trading on Monday, hitting $3.62. The company's stock had a trading volume of 560,576 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,850,973. Ardelyx, Inc. has a 12-month low of $3.50 and a 12-month high of $8.14. The company has a market cap of $864.91 million, a P/E ratio of -22.59 and a beta of 0.76. The business's 50 day simple moving average is $4.85 and its 200 day simple moving average is $5.17. 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 issued its 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). Ardelyx had a negative return on equity of 24.87% and a negative net margin of 11.73%. The company had revenue of $74.11 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $79.40 million. During the same period last year, the business earned ($0.11) earnings per share. The firm's revenue was up 61.1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts forecast that Ardelyx, Inc. will post -0.18 EPS for the current year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on ARDX. HC Wainwright reaffirmed a "neutral" rating and set a $5.50 target price on shares of Ardelyx in a research note on Friday, February 21st. Cantor Fitzgerald raised Ardelyx to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 4th. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $11.00 target price on shares of Ardelyx in a research note on Friday, March 7th. Citigroup reduced their target price on Ardelyx from $11.00 to $10.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded Ardelyx from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Monday, May 5th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $10.39.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Ardelyx news, insider Laura A. Williams sold 4,941 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $5.62, for a total value of $27,768.42. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 303,804 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,707,378.48. This trade represents a 1.60% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Michael Raab sold 22,964 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $5.62, for a total value of $129,057.68. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,085,755 shares of the company's stock, valued at $6,101,943.10. This trade represents a 2.07% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 158,076 shares of company stock valued at $777,555 in the last three months. 5.90% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.