Ardelyx (NASDAQ:ARDX) Shares Up 8.3% – Time to Buy?

Ardelyx, Inc. (NASDAQ:ARDX) shares shot up 8.3% during trading on Monday . The company traded as high as $5.82 and last traded at $5.49. 4,155,661 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, an increase of 0% from the average session volume of 4,141,302 shares. The stock had previously closed at $5.07.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on ARDX. Jefferies Financial Group lowered their price objective on Ardelyx from $11.00 to $8.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, January 2nd. HC Wainwright downgraded shares of Ardelyx from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and lowered their price target for the company from $11.00 to $5.50 in a report on Monday, November 11th. Finally, Citigroup reduced their price objective on shares of Ardelyx from $12.00 to $10.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, November 4th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $9.25.

Ardelyx Stock Performance

The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $5.20 and its 200 day simple moving average is $5.69. The firm has a market cap of $1.39 billion, a PE ratio of -19.57 and a beta of 0.85. The company has a current ratio of 4.03, a quick ratio of 3.87 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO Michael Raab sold 41,666 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $5.31, for a total transaction of $221,246.46. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,129,552 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,997,921.12. This represents a 3.56 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director David M. Mott bought 213,300 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, December 19th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $4.67 per share, with a total value of $996,111.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now owns 1,638,765 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,653,032.55. This represents a 14.96 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 218,358 shares of company stock worth $1,189,516. Corporate insiders own 5.90% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Ardelyx

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Redwood Wealth Management Group LLC bought a new stake in Ardelyx during the second quarter worth approximately $62,000. Coastal Bridge Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Ardelyx in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $74,000. Helen Stephens Group LLC bought a new position in shares of Ardelyx during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $76,000. CWM LLC raised its holdings in Ardelyx by 328.1% during the 3rd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 12,814 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $88,000 after buying an additional 9,821 shares during the period. Finally, Algert Global LLC purchased a new stake in Ardelyx during the 2nd quarter valued at $174,000. 58.92% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.