Values First Advisors Inc. Trims Stock Holdings in Ardelyx, Inc. (NASDAQ:ARDX)

Values First Advisors Inc. lowered its position in shares of Ardelyx, Inc. (NASDAQ:ARDX) by 33.6% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 30,738 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock after selling 15,544 shares during the quarter. Values First Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Ardelyx were worth $156,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in ARDX. State Street Corp lifted its holdings in shares of Ardelyx by 1.5% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 12,141,850 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $83,657,000 after purchasing an additional 176,789 shares during the period. Rubric Capital Management LP raised its position in Ardelyx by 68.5% during the 3rd quarter. Rubric Capital Management LP now owns 3,060,191 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $21,085,000 after buying an additional 1,243,606 shares during the last quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets lifted its stake in Ardelyx by 274.3% during the 3rd quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 181,387 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $1,250,000 after acquiring an additional 132,928 shares during the period. Vestal Point Capital LP purchased a new stake in shares of Ardelyx in the 3rd quarter valued at $3,445,000. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its stake in shares of Ardelyx by 1.6% in the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 387,144 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $2,667,000 after acquiring an additional 6,093 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 58.92% of the company’s stock.

Ardelyx Stock Down 1.3 %

Shares of NASDAQ ARDX opened at $5.45 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $1.29 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -18.17 and a beta of 0.85. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $5.23 and its 200-day simple moving average is $5.63. The company has a quick ratio of 3.87, a current ratio of 4.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64. Ardelyx, Inc. has a 52-week low of $4.32 and a 52-week high of $9.83.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on ARDX shares. Citigroup decreased their target price on shares of Ardelyx from $12.00 to $10.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, November 4th. Jefferies Financial Group decreased their price objective on Ardelyx from $11.00 to $8.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, January 2nd. Piper Sandler raised their target price on Ardelyx from $7.00 to $8.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, January 27th. HC Wainwright reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $5.50 price target on shares of Ardelyx in a report on Thursday, January 16th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald raised shares of Ardelyx to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Ardelyx presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $9.42.

Insider Activity

In other Ardelyx news, CEO Michael Raab sold 25,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, November 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $5.38, for a total value of $134,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,150,385 shares in the company, valued at $6,189,071.30. This represents a 2.13 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CFO Justin A. Renz sold 5,260 shares of Ardelyx stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $4.79, for a total transaction of $25,195.40. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 291,139 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,394,555.81. The trade was a 1.77 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 177,938 shares of company stock worth $924,239 over the last quarter. 5.90% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.