Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. Buys 12,208 Shares of Ardelyx, Inc. (NASDAQ:ARDX)

Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. raised its stake in shares of Ardelyx, Inc. (NASDAQ:ARDX) by 8.7% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 152,389 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock after buying an additional 12,208 shares during the period. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. owned 0.07% of Ardelyx worth $945,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in Ardelyx by 0.9% during the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 11,565,800 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $47,188,000 after buying an additional 97,951 shares in the last quarter. Eventide Asset Management LLC bought a new position in Ardelyx during the third quarter valued at about $10,996,000. Rubric Capital Management LP bought a new position in Ardelyx during the third quarter valued at about $10,200,000. Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. bought a new position in Ardelyx during the third quarter valued at about $9,384,000. Finally, Barclays PLC raised its holdings in Ardelyx by 93.5% during the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 1,895,327 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $7,732,000 after buying an additional 915,971 shares in the last quarter. 58.92% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on ARDX. Leerink Partnrs reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of Ardelyx in a research report on Friday, April 5th. Piper Sandler lifted their price objective on Ardelyx from $12.00 to $15.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, February 23rd. Citigroup lifted their price objective on Ardelyx from $9.00 to $14.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 10th. SVB Leerink initiated coverage on Ardelyx in a research note on Friday, April 5th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $14.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Raymond James lifted their price objective on Ardelyx from $12.00 to $15.00 and gave the stock a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 9th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $12.69.

Ardelyx Trading Down 1.8 %

Shares of ARDX opened at $6.39 on Wednesday. Ardelyx, Inc. has a 12-month low of $3.16 and a 12-month high of $10.13. The company has a quick ratio of 4.64, a current ratio of 4.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.49 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -21.30 and a beta of 0.86. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $8.02 and its 200 day moving average price is $6.66.

Ardelyx (NASDAQ:ARDX) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 22nd. The biopharmaceutical company reported ($0.12) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.09) by ($0.03). Ardelyx had a negative net margin of 53.08% and a negative return on equity of 43.57%. The firm had revenue of $34.36 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $34.26 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.06 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was down 22.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts predict that Ardelyx, Inc. will post -0.44 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Elizabeth A. Grammer sold 86,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $7.73, for a total value of $664,780.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 312,993 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,419,435.89. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In other news, insider Elizabeth A. Grammer sold 86,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $7.73, for a total value of $664,780.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 312,993 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,419,435.89. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Robert Blanks sold 5,017 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $8.75, for a total value of $43,898.75. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 368,186 shares in the company, valued at $3,221,627.50. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 148,820 shares of company stock worth $1,208,524. Company insiders own 5.50% 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.