UBS Group AG Grows Holdings in Ardelyx, Inc. $ARDX

UBS Group AG raised its position in Ardelyx, Inc. (NASDAQ:ARDX) by 25.4% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 578,344 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock after buying an additional 117,024 shares during the period. UBS Group AG owned about 0.24% of Ardelyx worth $3,372,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. increased its stake in shares of Ardelyx by 26.7% during the fourth quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 11,807 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $69,000 after purchasing an additional 2,491 shares in the last quarter. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH increased its stake in shares of Ardelyx by 0.7% during the fourth quarter. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH now owns 347,609 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $2,027,000 after purchasing an additional 2,532 shares in the last quarter. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC increased its stake in shares of Ardelyx by 24.2% during the third quarter. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC now owns 15,263 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $84,000 after purchasing an additional 2,975 shares in the last quarter. Crux Wealth Advisors increased its stake in shares of Ardelyx by 10.9% during the fourth quarter. Crux Wealth Advisors now owns 30,973 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $181,000 after purchasing an additional 3,035 shares in the last quarter. Finally, E Fund Management Co. Ltd. increased its stake in shares of Ardelyx by 8.9% during the second quarter. E Fund Management Co. Ltd. now owns 40,023 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $157,000 after purchasing an additional 3,255 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 58.92% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Ardelyx

In related news, insider Mike Kelliher sold 7,248 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $6.27, for a total transaction of $45,444.96. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 357,418 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,241,010.86. This represents a 1.99% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Eric Duane Foster sold 7,998 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $6.27, for a total transaction of $50,147.46. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 417,972 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,620,684.44. This represents a 1.88% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last quarter, insiders sold 66,238 shares of company stock valued at $397,396. Corporate insiders own 5.30% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have recently commented on ARDX shares. Leerink Partners reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Ardelyx in a research note on Thursday, March 12th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Ardelyx in a research note on Monday, April 20th. Jefferies Financial Group reissued a “buy” rating and set a $15.00 target price on shares of Ardelyx in a research note on Tuesday, January 27th. Wedbush reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $19.00 target price on shares of Ardelyx in a research note on Monday, February 23rd. Finally, Williams Trading set a $17.00 target price on shares of Ardelyx in a research note on Thursday, March 12th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have issued a Buy rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $15.70.

Ardelyx Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ ARDX opened at $6.11 on Monday. Ardelyx, Inc. has a 12-month low of $3.49 and a 12-month high of $8.40. The stock has a market cap of $1.51 billion, a PE ratio of -26.56 and a beta of 0.62. The company has a current ratio of 3.49, a quick ratio of 3.28 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.37. The company has a 50-day moving average of $6.08 and a 200 day moving average of $6.29.

Ardelyx (NASDAQ:ARDX) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 30th. The biopharmaceutical company reported ($0.15) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.13) by ($0.02). Ardelyx had a negative net margin of 13.58% and a negative return on equity of 38.11%. The business had revenue of $94.47 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $92.78 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted ($0.17) EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 27.5% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Ardelyx, Inc. will post -0.05 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ardelyx Company Profile

Ardelyx, Inc (NASDAQ: ARDX) is a clinical‐stage biopharmaceutical company focused on discovering, developing and commercializing targeted small molecule drugs for cardio‐renal and gastrointestinal diseases. The company’s lead marketed product, tenapanor (sold under the brand name XPHOZAH in the United States), is approved for the treatment of hyperphosphatemia in patients with chronic kidney disease on dialysis. Ardelyx’s proprietary approach targets epithelial transporters in the gastrointestinal tract, offering localized activity with limited systemic exposure.

Beyond tenapanor, Ardelyx’s development pipeline includes treatments designed to address other complications in kidney disease and related metabolic disorders.