Ardelyx, Inc. (NASDAQ:ARDX) Short Interest Update

Ardelyx, Inc. (NASDAQ:ARDX) was the recipient of a significant growth in short interest in the month of October. As of October 31st, there was short interest totalling 24,060,000 shares, a growth of 5.1% from the October 15th total of 22,890,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 3,460,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 7.0 days.

Ardelyx Trading Down 3.4 %

Ardelyx stock opened at $4.79 on Wednesday. Ardelyx has a 52 week low of $4.06 and a 52 week high of $10.13. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $5.92 and a 200 day moving average price of $6.23. The company has a quick ratio of 3.87, a current ratio of 4.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64. The company has a market capitalization of $1.13 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -15.93 and a beta of 0.92.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have issued reports on ARDX shares. Citigroup cut their target price on Ardelyx from $12.00 to $10.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, November 4th. Wedbush reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $11.00 price objective on shares of Ardelyx in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. HC Wainwright downgraded shares of Ardelyx from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and lowered their target price for the company from $11.00 to $5.50 in a research note on Monday, November 11th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded Ardelyx from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $10.42.

Insider Activity at Ardelyx

In related news, insider David P. Rosenbaum sold 5,312 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $6.26, for a total value of $33,253.12. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 153,616 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $961,636.16. This represents a 3.34 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Michael Raab sold 35,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, September 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $5.61, for a total transaction of $196,350.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,220,608 shares in the company, valued at $6,847,610.88. This trade represents a 2.79 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 189,962 shares of company stock worth $1,171,128. Company insiders own 5.90% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC grew its position in Ardelyx by 1,026.3% during the 2nd quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 3,548 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 3,233 shares during the period. Redwood Wealth Management Group LLC acquired a new stake in Ardelyx during the second quarter worth about $62,000. Coastal Bridge Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Ardelyx during the second quarter valued at approximately $74,000. Helen Stephens Group LLC acquired a new position in Ardelyx in the third quarter valued at approximately $76,000. Finally, Paloma Partners Management Co purchased a new stake in Ardelyx in the 1st quarter worth approximately $86,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 58.92% 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.