Investors Purchase High Volume of Call Options on Ardelyx (NASDAQ:ARDX)

Ardelyx, Inc. (NASDAQ:ARDX) saw some unusual options trading on Friday. Traders acquired 3,598 call options on the stock. This is an increase of 128% compared to the typical volume of 1,576 call options.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

ARDX has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. BTIG Research increased their price objective on shares of Ardelyx from $14.00 to $17.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday. Raymond James Financial restated a “strong-buy” rating and set a $19.00 target price on shares of Ardelyx in a report on Thursday. TD Cowen upped their target price on shares of Ardelyx from $9.00 to $10.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, October 31st. Weiss Ratings reissued a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Ardelyx in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Finally, Cowen reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Ardelyx in a report on Friday, October 31st. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have assigned a Buy rating, one has given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $13.50.

Insider Activity at Ardelyx

In related news, insider Mike Kelliher sold 5,560 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $5.54, for a total value of $30,802.40. Following the sale, the insider owned 271,181 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,502,342.74. The trade was a 2.01% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Michael Raab sold 46,887 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, November 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $5.54, for a total value of $259,753.98. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 1,455,363 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,062,711.02. This represents a 3.12% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last three months, insiders have sold 64,868 shares of company stock worth $359,369. Insiders own 4.80% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. GK Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Ardelyx during the fourth quarter valued at $435,000. Tudor Investment Corp ET AL acquired a new stake in Ardelyx in the 3rd quarter worth about $688,000. Swiss Life Asset Management Ltd acquired a new stake in Ardelyx in the 3rd quarter worth about $57,000. CIBC Bancorp USA Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Ardelyx during the third quarter worth approximately $139,000. Finally, Voleon Capital Management LP purchased a new position in Ardelyx in the 3rd quarter valued at $233,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 58.92% of the company’s stock.

Ardelyx Stock Performance

Shares of Ardelyx stock traded up $1.03 on Friday, reaching $8.03. 4,736,197 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 7,629,519. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $5.85 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $5.45. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.95 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -34.81 and a beta of 0.56. Ardelyx has a twelve month low of $3.21 and a twelve month high of $7.82. The company has a quick ratio of 4.11, a current ratio of 4.41 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.31.

Ardelyx (NASDAQ:ARDX) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 30th. The biopharmaceutical company reported $0.00 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.06) by $0.06. The business had revenue of $110.33 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $100.44 million. Ardelyx had a negative net margin of 14.20% and a negative return on equity of 36.91%. The business’s revenue was up 14.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts anticipate that Ardelyx will post -0.18 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

About Ardelyx

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.