Raymond James Financial Inc. Acquires Shares of 183,490 Ardelyx, Inc. (NASDAQ:ARDX)

Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new position in shares of Ardelyx, Inc. (NASDAQ:ARDX) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm bought 183,490 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock, valued at approximately $930,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. owned 0.08% of Ardelyx as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its holdings in Ardelyx by 2.1% during the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,938,778 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $13,358,000 after purchasing an additional 40,702 shares during the period. BNP Paribas Financial Markets grew its position in shares of Ardelyx by 274.3% during the 3rd quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 181,387 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $1,250,000 after buying an additional 132,928 shares in the last quarter. Parallax Volatility Advisers L.P. purchased a new position in shares of Ardelyx during the third quarter valued at $506,000. State Street Corp raised its holdings in shares of Ardelyx by 1.5% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 12,141,850 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $83,657,000 after acquiring an additional 176,789 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Barclays PLC lifted its stake in Ardelyx by 24.9% in the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 547,325 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $3,770,000 after acquiring an additional 109,285 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 58.92% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

ARDX has been the subject of several recent research reports. BTIG Research assumed coverage on shares of Ardelyx in a report on Tuesday, March 4th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $14.00 price target for the company. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH restated a “buy” rating and set a $11.00 target price on shares of Ardelyx in a report on Friday, March 7th. Jefferies Financial Group dropped their target price on Ardelyx from $11.00 to $8.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, January 2nd. Raymond James reissued a “strong-buy” rating and issued a $13.00 price target (down from $15.00) on shares of Ardelyx in a research report on Friday, February 21st. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald upgraded Ardelyx to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 4th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $10.95.

Ardelyx Trading Down 4.0 %

Ardelyx stock opened at $4.55 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.87, a quick ratio of 4.31 and a current ratio of 4.58. The stock has a market cap of $1.08 billion, a PE ratio of -28.44 and a beta of 0.87. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $5.36 and a two-hundred day moving average of $5.47. Ardelyx, Inc. has a one year low of $4.32 and a one year high of $9.33.

Ardelyx (NASDAQ:ARDX) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 20th. The biopharmaceutical company reported $0.02 EPS for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $0.02. The firm had revenue of $116.13 million during 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%. On average, research analysts anticipate that Ardelyx, Inc. will post -0.18 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO Michael Raab sold 41,668 shares of Ardelyx stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $5.36, for a total transaction of $223,340.48. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 1,635,138 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,764,339.68. The trade was a 2.48 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Laura A. Williams sold 4,941 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $5.62, for a total value of $27,768.42. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 303,804 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,707,378.48. This represents a 1.60 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 158,076 shares of company stock valued at $853,804. Insiders own 5.90% of the company’s stock.

Ardelyx Company Profile

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.