Rubric Capital Management LP Takes $11.15 Million Position in Ardelyx, Inc. $ARDX

Rubric Capital Management LP purchased a new stake in Ardelyx, Inc. (NASDAQ:ARDX) in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund purchased 1,860,896 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,147,000.

Other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Eversept Partners LP boosted its position in Ardelyx by 30.0% during the first quarter. Eversept Partners LP now owns 2,229,446 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $13,354,000 after purchasing an additional 514,317 shares in the last quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP increased its position in shares of Ardelyx by 82.6% in the first quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP now owns 18,774 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $112,000 after buying an additional 8,492 shares in the last quarter. Entropy Technologies LP acquired a new position in shares of Ardelyx during the 1st quarter worth approximately $139,000. Knott David M Jr acquired a new position in shares of Ardelyx during the 1st quarter worth approximately $1,240,000. Finally, Sei Investments Co. lifted its position in shares of Ardelyx by 36.6% during the 1st quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 134,413 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $805,000 after buying an additional 35,989 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 58.92% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Mike Kelliher sold 7,248 shares of Ardelyx stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $6.27, for a total transaction of $45,444.96. Following the transaction, the insider owned 357,418 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,241,010.86. This trade represents a 1.99% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Eric Duane Foster sold 7,998 shares of Ardelyx stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $6.27, for a total value of $50,147.46. Following the transaction, the insider owned 417,972 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,620,684.44. The trade was a 1.88% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold 24,572 shares of company stock valued at $154,066 over the last 90 days. Company insiders own 5.30% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms recently issued reports on ARDX. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH began coverage on shares of Ardelyx in a research note on Tuesday, June 16th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $16.00 price target on the stock. Zacks Research cut shares of Ardelyx from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 22nd. Finally, Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of Ardelyx from a “sell (d-)” rating to a “sell (e+)” rating in a report on Monday, June 29th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have given a Buy rating and two have given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Ardelyx currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $15.73.

Ardelyx Stock Performance

ARDX opened at $5.06 on Tuesday. Ardelyx, Inc. has a twelve month low of $4.07 and a twelve month high of $8.40. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.25 billion, a PE ratio of -22.00 and a beta of 0.61. 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 firm’s 50-day moving average price is $5.61 and its 200 day moving average price is $6.20.

Ardelyx (NASDAQ:ARDX) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 30th. The biopharmaceutical company reported ($0.15) EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates 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 during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $92.78 million. During the same quarter in the previous 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 expect that Ardelyx, Inc. will post -0.08 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.