BNP Paribas Financial Markets Acquires 393,801 Shares of Ardelyx, Inc. (NASDAQ:ARDX)

BNP Paribas Financial Markets increased its position in shares of Ardelyx, Inc. (NASDAQ:ARDX - Free Report) by 156.8% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 644,975 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock after purchasing an additional 393,801 shares during the period. BNP Paribas Financial Markets owned 0.28% of Ardelyx worth $3,999,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of ARDX. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in Ardelyx by 0.9% in the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 11,565,800 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $47,188,000 after acquiring an additional 97,951 shares in the last quarter. Eventide Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in Ardelyx in the third quarter valued at $10,996,000. Rubric Capital Management LP acquired a new position in Ardelyx in the third quarter valued at $10,200,000. Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. purchased a new stake in shares of Ardelyx in the third quarter valued at about $9,384,000. Finally, Barclays PLC raised its holdings in shares of Ardelyx by 93.5% in the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 1,895,327 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $7,732,000 after buying an additional 915,971 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 58.92% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on the stock. Citigroup upped their target price on shares of Ardelyx from $13.00 to $14.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, May 3rd. Wedbush upped their target price on shares of Ardelyx from $14.00 to $15.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, May 3rd. StockNews.com cut shares of Ardelyx from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Tuesday. SVB Leerink assumed coverage on shares of Ardelyx in a report on Friday, April 5th. They issued an "outperform" rating and a $14.00 target price for the company. Finally, Leerink Partnrs reaffirmed an "outperform" rating on shares of Ardelyx in a report on Friday, April 5th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $12.81.

Insider Buying and Selling at Ardelyx

In other Ardelyx news, CEO Michael Raab sold 30,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $6.40, for a total value of $192,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,310,933 shares of the company's stock, valued at $8,389,971.20. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. In other news, CEO Michael Raab sold 30,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $6.40, for a total value of $192,000.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,310,933 shares in the company, valued at $8,389,971.20. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Robert Ora Felsch sold 207,988 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $8.81, for a total transaction of $1,832,374.28. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 95,947 shares in the company, valued at $845,293.07. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 381,138 shares of company stock valued at $3,158,429. Corporate insiders own 5.50% of the company's stock.

Ardelyx Stock Performance

NASDAQ ARDX traded up $0.10 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $7.82. 2,957,500 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 5,994,538. The company has a market cap of $1.82 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -27.93 and a beta of 0.87. Ardelyx, Inc. has a 12-month low of $3.16 and a 12-month high of $10.13. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $7.43 and a 200 day moving average of $7.21. The company has a quick ratio of 4.36, a current ratio of 4.53 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66.

Ardelyx (NASDAQ:ARDX - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, May 2nd. The biopharmaceutical company reported ($0.11) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.13) by $0.02. Ardelyx had a negative net margin of 41.36% and a negative return on equity of 41.65%. The company had revenue of $46.00 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $36.40 million. During the same period last year, the company posted ($0.13) earnings per share. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 303.5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Ardelyx, Inc. will post -0.36 earnings per share for the current year.

Ardelyx Company 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.