Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. Acquires 40,702 Shares of Ardelyx, Inc. (NASDAQ:ARDX)

Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Ardelyx, Inc. (NASDAQ:ARDX) by 2.1% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,938,778 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock after buying an additional 40,702 shares during the quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc.’s holdings in Ardelyx were worth $13,358,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of ARDX. Clay Northam Wealth Management LLC raised its position in shares of Ardelyx by 154.7% in the 2nd quarter. Clay Northam Wealth Management LLC now owns 232,377 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $1,722,000 after acquiring an additional 141,145 shares in the last quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC grew its stake in Ardelyx by 283.2% in the second quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 91,672 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $679,000 after purchasing an additional 67,750 shares during the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC raised its holdings in Ardelyx by 142.8% in the second quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 3,203,090 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $23,735,000 after purchasing an additional 1,883,995 shares in the last quarter. B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Ardelyx during the second quarter valued at about $645,000. Finally, Simplify Asset Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Ardelyx by 70.9% in the 2nd quarter. Simplify Asset Management Inc. now owns 598,000 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $4,431,000 after buying an additional 248,000 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 58.92% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts recently commented on the stock. HC Wainwright lowered shares of Ardelyx from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and reduced their price objective for the stock from $11.00 to $5.50 in a research note on Monday, November 11th. Citigroup cut their price target on shares of Ardelyx from $12.00 to $10.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, November 4th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $10.42.

Ardelyx Stock Up 4.0 %

ARDX stock opened at $5.72 on Monday. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.35 billion, a PE ratio of -19.07 and a beta of 0.83. Ardelyx, Inc. has a 52 week low of $4.34 and a 52 week high of $10.13. The company has a quick ratio of 3.87, a current ratio of 4.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $5.72 and a 200 day moving average of $5.96.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Michael Raab sold 25,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $5.38, for a total value of $134,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,150,385 shares in the company, valued at $6,189,071.30. This trade represents a 2.13 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Laura A. Williams sold 7,366 shares of Ardelyx stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $4.79, for a total value of $35,283.14. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 308,745 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,478,888.55. This trade represents a 2.33 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 252,068 shares of company stock valued at $1,472,641. Insiders own 5.90% 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.