Redmile Group LLC Sells 84,504 Shares of Ardelyx, Inc. (NASDAQ:ARDX)

Redmile Group LLC cut its stake in Ardelyx, Inc. (NASDAQ:ARDX) by 5.1% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,576,259 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock after selling 84,504 shares during the quarter. Redmile Group LLC owned about 0.67% of Ardelyx worth $7,992,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in ARDX. Janus Henderson Group PLC grew its stake in Ardelyx by 13.3% during the 4th quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 24,387,941 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $123,587,000 after buying an additional 2,858,061 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Ardelyx by 5.6% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 14,362,659 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $72,819,000 after acquiring an additional 767,111 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Ardelyx by 0.4% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 5,509,730 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $27,941,000 after acquiring an additional 21,988 shares during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp increased its holdings in shares of Ardelyx by 2.4% during the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 2,150,974 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $10,905,000 after acquiring an additional 50,441 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Ardelyx by 5.0% in 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 purchasing an additional 96,357 shares during the last quarter. 58.92% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Ardelyx Stock Performance

Shares of ARDX stock opened at $3.28 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 4.58, a quick ratio of 4.31 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.87. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $4.74 and a 200-day simple moving average of $5.13. The company has a market cap of $784.76 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -20.50 and a beta of 0.76. Ardelyx, Inc. has a 12-month low of $3.26 and a 12-month high of $8.06.

Ardelyx (NASDAQ:ARDX) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The biopharmaceutical company reported ($0.17) EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.10) by ($0.07). Ardelyx had a negative net margin of 11.73% and a negative return on equity of 24.87%. The business had revenue of $74.11 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $79.40 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned ($0.11) earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 61.1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts forecast that Ardelyx, Inc. will post -0.18 EPS for the current year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

ARDX has been the topic of several research reports. Scotiabank assumed coverage on shares of Ardelyx in a report on Friday, March 7th. They issued a “sector outperform” rating and a $15.00 price target on the stock. Raymond James lowered shares of Ardelyx from a “strong-buy” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $11.00 price objective on the stock. in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH reissued a “buy” rating and set a $11.00 target price on shares of Ardelyx in a report on Friday, March 7th. Piper Sandler raised shares of Ardelyx to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 12th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded Ardelyx from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Monday, May 5th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $10.39.

Insider Transactions at Ardelyx

In related news, insider Laura A. Williams sold 4,941 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $5.62, for a total transaction of $27,768.42. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 303,804 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,707,378.48. This trade represents a 1.60% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Michael Raab sold 41,666 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, May 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $4.25, for a total transaction of $177,080.50. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,594,754 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,777,704.50. The trade was a 2.55% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 158,076 shares of company stock worth $777,555 in the last three months. 5.90% of the stock is currently owned by company 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.