Ardelyx, Inc. (NASDAQ:ARDX) Shares Sold by LPL Financial LLC

LPL Financial LLC cut its holdings in shares of Ardelyx, Inc. (NASDAQ:ARDX - Free Report) by 29.7% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 138,804 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock after selling 58,562 shares during the period. LPL Financial LLC owned 0.06% of Ardelyx worth $704,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of ARDX. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its position in shares of Ardelyx by 1.6% in the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 387,144 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock worth $2,667,000 after purchasing an additional 6,093 shares in the last quarter. Barclays PLC increased its position in Ardelyx by 24.9% during the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 547,325 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $3,770,000 after buying an additional 109,285 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in Ardelyx by 0.3% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 5,487,742 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $37,818,000 after buying an additional 17,296 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its position in 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 valued at $10,318,000 after buying an additional 96,357 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Rhumbline Advisers increased its position in Ardelyx by 1.9% during the 4th quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 326,124 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $1,653,000 after buying an additional 6,070 shares in the last quarter. 58.92% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts recently issued reports on ARDX shares. Cantor Fitzgerald raised Ardelyx to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report 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 report on Friday, March 7th. Raymond James reissued a "strong-buy" rating and issued a $13.00 price objective (down from $15.00) on shares of Ardelyx in a report on Friday, February 21st. BTIG Research started coverage on Ardelyx in a report on Tuesday, March 4th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $14.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, HC Wainwright reissued a "neutral" rating and issued a $5.50 price objective on shares of Ardelyx in a report on Friday, February 21st. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $10.61.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Ardelyx news, CEO Michael Raab sold 41,666 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, April 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $4.59, for a total transaction of $191,246.94. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 1,615,587 shares of the company's stock, valued at $7,415,544.33. This trade represents a 2.51 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CFO Justin A. Renz sold 5,171 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $5.62, for a total transaction of $29,061.02. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly 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 position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 158,076 shares of company stock valued at $823,804 over the last 90 days. 5.90% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Ardelyx Trading Up 1.7 %

Shares of NASDAQ:ARDX traded up $0.09 during midday trading on Monday, reaching $5.35. 4,929,590 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 4,376,155. The stock has a market cap of $1.28 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -33.44 and a beta of 0.81. Ardelyx, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $4.02 and a fifty-two week high of $9.33. The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $5.02 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $5.27. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.87, a current ratio of 4.58 and a quick ratio of 4.31.

Ardelyx (NASDAQ:ARDX - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, February 20th. The biopharmaceutical company reported $0.02 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.02. The company had revenue of $116.13 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $111.16 million. Ardelyx had a negative net margin of 11.73% and a negative return on equity of 24.87%. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Ardelyx, Inc. will post -0.18 EPS for the current fiscal year.

About Ardelyx

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.