Two Seas Capital LP Acquires New Holdings in Ardelyx, Inc. (NASDAQ:ARDX)

Two Seas Capital LP bought a new position in shares of Ardelyx, Inc. (NASDAQ:ARDX) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor bought 1,855,337 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,407,000. Ardelyx accounts for 0.8% of Two Seas Capital LP’s holdings, making the stock its 17th largest position.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of ARDX. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Ardelyx by 5.6% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 14,362,659 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $72,819,000 after purchasing an additional 767,111 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position 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 valued at $27,941,000 after buying an additional 21,988 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings 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 buying an additional 96,357 shares in the last quarter. Rock Springs Capital Management LP purchased a new position in shares of Ardelyx in the 4th quarter worth approximately $7,421,000. Finally, Jones Financial Companies Lllp raised its stake in shares of Ardelyx by 67.2% during the 4th quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 1,452,176 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $7,363,000 after acquiring an additional 583,550 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 58.92% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on ARDX shares. Raymond James restated a “strong-buy” rating and issued a $13.00 target price (down from $15.00) on shares of Ardelyx in a research note on Friday, February 21st. Scotiabank assumed coverage on Ardelyx in a research report on Friday, March 7th. They issued a “sector outperform” rating and a $15.00 price objective for the company. HC Wainwright reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $5.50 target price on shares of Ardelyx in a research report on Friday, February 21st. BTIG Research initiated coverage on Ardelyx in a report on Tuesday, March 4th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $14.00 price target for the company. Finally, LADENBURG THALM/SH SH restated a “buy” rating and set a $11.00 price objective on shares of Ardelyx in a report on Friday, March 7th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Ardelyx currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $10.61.

Ardelyx Price Performance

Ardelyx stock opened at $5.02 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.20 billion, a P/E ratio of -31.38 and a beta of 0.81. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $5.06 and its 200 day moving average price is $5.29. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.87, a quick ratio of 4.31 and a current ratio of 4.58. Ardelyx, Inc. has a 1 year low of $4.02 and a 1 year high of $9.33.

Ardelyx (NASDAQ:ARDX) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, February 20th. The biopharmaceutical company reported $0.02 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $0.02. The business had revenue of $116.13 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $111.16 million. Ardelyx had a negative net margin of 11.73% and a negative return on equity of 24.87%. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Ardelyx, Inc. will post -0.18 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director David M. Mott acquired 77,729 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 24th. The shares were bought at an average price of $5.00 per share, for a total transaction of $388,645.00. Following the acquisition, the director now owns 2,015,494 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,077,470. This trade represents a 4.01 % increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Michael Raab sold 41,666 shares of Ardelyx stock in a transaction on Friday, January 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $5.36, for a total transaction of $223,329.76. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,108,719 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,942,733.84. This trade represents a 3.62 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 158,076 shares of company stock worth $823,804. Insiders own 5.90% of the company’s stock.

About Ardelyx

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.