Ardelyx Sees Unusually High Options Volume (NASDAQ:ARDX)

Ardelyx, Inc. (NASDAQ:ARDX) saw some unusual options trading on Friday. Traders purchased 5,573 call options on the company. This represents an increase of 75% compared to the average volume of 3,185 call options.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on ARDX. HC Wainwright restated a “buy” rating and issued a $11.00 target price on shares of Ardelyx in a report on Friday. StockNews.com upgraded Ardelyx from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st. Wedbush reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $11.00 target price on shares of Ardelyx in a report on Friday, August 2nd. Finally, Citigroup increased their price target on shares of Ardelyx from $10.00 to $12.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $11.67.

Ardelyx Trading Up 3.7 %

Shares of NASDAQ ARDX opened at $6.09 on Friday. Ardelyx has a 1-year low of $3.43 and a 1-year high of $10.13. The company has a current ratio of 4.21, a quick ratio of 3.99 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68. The company has a 50-day moving average of $6.07 and a two-hundred day moving average of $6.32. The company has a market cap of $1.43 billion, a PE ratio of -22.55 and a beta of 0.90.

Ardelyx (NASDAQ:ARDX) last released its earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The biopharmaceutical company reported ($0.07) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.11) by $0.04. The company had revenue of $73.20 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $55.03 million. Ardelyx had a negative net margin of 31.02% and a negative return on equity of 39.73%. The company’s revenue was up 228.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted ($0.08) EPS. As a group, equities analysts expect that Ardelyx will post -0.25 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Ardelyx

In related news, CEO Michael Raab sold 25,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, October 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $5.91, for a total value of $147,750.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,210,108 shares in the company, valued at $7,151,738.28. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In other news, insider David P. Rosenbaum sold 49,564 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $6.92, for a total transaction of $342,982.88. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 301,946 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,089,466.32. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Michael Raab sold 25,000 shares of Ardelyx stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, October 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $5.91, for a total transaction of $147,750.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 1,210,108 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,151,738.28. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 212,126 shares of company stock worth $1,298,963. 5.90% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of ARDX. Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its position in Ardelyx by 347.4% during the 1st quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 122,811 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $897,000 after buying an additional 95,361 shares in the last quarter. Swiss National Bank boosted its position in Ardelyx by 6.7% during the first quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 458,300 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $3,346,000 after purchasing an additional 28,900 shares during the last quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. increased its position in shares of Ardelyx by 100.7% during the 1st quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 536,297 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $3,915,000 after purchasing an additional 269,046 shares during the last quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Ardelyx by 8.9% during the 1st quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 57,729 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $421,000 after purchasing an additional 4,735 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Entropy Technologies LP acquired a new stake in shares of Ardelyx in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $341,000. 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.