Redmile Group LLC Purchases Shares of 733,350 Ardelyx, Inc. $ARDX

Redmile Group LLC purchased a new position in Ardelyx, Inc. (NASDAQ:ARDX) during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 733,350 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,393,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. First Horizon Corp grew its stake in shares of Ardelyx by 120.4% in the fourth quarter. First Horizon Corp now owns 7,906 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $46,000 after purchasing an additional 4,319 shares during the last quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. purchased a new stake in Ardelyx in the 4th quarter worth approximately $60,000. State of Wyoming bought a new stake in shares of Ardelyx in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $61,000. Osaic Holdings Inc. grew its position in shares of Ardelyx by 28.2% in the 2nd quarter. Osaic Holdings Inc. now owns 16,854 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $66,000 after buying an additional 3,709 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. increased its stake in shares of Ardelyx by 26.7% during the fourth quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 11,807 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $69,000 after buying an additional 2,491 shares during the period. 58.92% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Ardelyx

In related news, insider Eric Duane Foster sold 7,998 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $6.27, for a total transaction of $50,147.46. Following the sale, the insider owned 417,972 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,620,684.44. The trade was a 1.88% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, insider Mike Kelliher sold 7,248 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $6.27, for a total transaction of $45,444.96. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 357,418 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,241,010.86. This trade represents a 1.99% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 24,572 shares of company stock valued at $154,066. 5.30% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Ardelyx Price Performance

ARDX opened at $5.09 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 3.49, a quick ratio of 3.28 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.37. The company has a market cap of $1.26 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -22.13 and a beta of 0.61. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $5.59 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $6.20. Ardelyx, Inc. has a 12-month low of $4.07 and a 12-month high of $8.40.

Ardelyx (NASDAQ:ARDX) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The biopharmaceutical company reported ($0.15) EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.13) by ($0.02). The business had revenue of $94.47 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $92.78 million. Ardelyx had a negative net margin of 13.58% and a negative return on equity of 38.11%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 27.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted ($0.17) EPS. Research analysts predict that Ardelyx, Inc. will post -0.08 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

ARDX has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Weiss Ratings downgraded Ardelyx from a “sell (d-)” rating to a “sell (e+)” rating in a report on Monday, June 29th. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH assumed coverage on shares of Ardelyx in a research report on Tuesday, June 16th. They set a “buy” rating and a $16.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Zacks Research lowered shares of Ardelyx from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 22nd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have assigned a Buy rating and two have given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $15.73.

Ardelyx Profile

Ardelyx, Inc (NASDAQ: ARDX) is a clinical‐stage biopharmaceutical company focused on discovering, developing and commercializing targeted small molecule drugs for cardio‐renal and gastrointestinal diseases. The company’s lead marketed product, tenapanor (sold under the brand name XPHOZAH in the United States), is approved for the treatment of hyperphosphatemia in patients with chronic kidney disease on dialysis. Ardelyx’s proprietary approach targets epithelial transporters in the gastrointestinal tract, offering localized activity with limited systemic exposure.

Beyond tenapanor, Ardelyx’s development pipeline includes treatments designed to address other complications in kidney disease and related metabolic disorders.