Headlands Technologies LLC Purchases 19,707 Shares of Ardelyx, Inc. (NASDAQ:ARDX)

Headlands Technologies LLC boosted its position in shares of Ardelyx, Inc. (NASDAQ:ARDX) by 836.5% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 22,063 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock after buying an additional 19,707 shares during the period. Headlands Technologies LLC’s holdings in Ardelyx were worth $108,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Janus Henderson Group PLC boosted its stake in Ardelyx by 13.3% during the fourth quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 24,387,941 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $123,587,000 after buying an additional 2,858,061 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in Ardelyx by 4.4% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 14,997,234 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $73,636,000 after buying an additional 634,575 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in Ardelyx by 0.4% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 5,509,730 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $27,941,000 after buying an additional 21,988 shares during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp boosted its stake in 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 buying an additional 50,441 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its stake in Ardelyx by 1.6% during the first quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,067,528 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $10,152,000 after buying an additional 32,393 shares during the last quarter. 58.92% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Ardelyx Trading Up 3.6%

Shares of NASDAQ ARDX opened at $5.40 on Tuesday. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $4.19 and its 200-day moving average price is $4.63. The company has a market cap of $1.30 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -23.48 and a beta of 0.68. Ardelyx, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $3.21 and a fifty-two week high of $7.18. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.44, a quick ratio of 4.03 and a current ratio of 4.30.

Ardelyx (NASDAQ:ARDX) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, August 4th. The biopharmaceutical company reported ($0.08) EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.13) by $0.05. The company had revenue of $97.66 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $82.69 million. Ardelyx had a negative return on equity of 36.57% and a negative net margin of 14.60%. Ardelyx’s quarterly revenue was up 23.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business posted ($0.07) EPS. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Ardelyx, Inc. will post -0.18 earnings per share for the current year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on ARDX shares. UBS Group set a $12.00 price objective on Ardelyx in a research note on Tuesday, August 5th. Raymond James Financial reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $12.00 price objective (up from $11.00) on shares of Ardelyx in a research note on Tuesday, August 5th. HC Wainwright started coverage on Ardelyx in a research note on Wednesday, June 18th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $10.00 price objective for the company. Wall Street Zen raised Ardelyx from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday. Finally, Wedbush reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $14.00 price objective (up from $13.00) on shares of Ardelyx in a research note on Tuesday, August 5th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Ardelyx presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $11.50.

Insider Activity at Ardelyx

In other news, insider Mike Kelliher sold 14,522 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $4.08, for a total value of $59,249.76. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 282,158 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,151,204.64. This trade represents a 4.89% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Justin A. Renz sold 7,218 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $4.08, for a total value of $29,449.44. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 416,089 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,697,643.12. The trade was a 1.71% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders bought 500,000 shares of company stock worth $1,793,000 and sold 83,477 shares worth $340,586. Company insiders own 4.80% of the company’s stock.

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.