Simplify Asset Management Inc. Acquires 91,364 Shares of Ardelyx, Inc. (NASDAQ:ARDX)

Simplify Asset Management Inc. boosted its stake in Ardelyx, Inc. (NASDAQ:ARDX) by 15.3% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 689,364 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock after acquiring an additional 91,364 shares during the period. Simplify Asset Management Inc. owned 0.29% of Ardelyx worth $4,750,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in ARDX. Swiss National Bank lifted its position in shares of Ardelyx by 6.7% in the 1st quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 458,300 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $3,346,000 after purchasing an additional 28,900 shares during the period. Russell Investments Group Ltd. boosted its position in Ardelyx by 100.7% during the 1st quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 536,297 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $3,915,000 after acquiring an additional 269,046 shares in the last quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Ardelyx by 8.9% during the 1st quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 57,729 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $421,000 after acquiring an additional 4,735 shares during the period. Entropy Technologies LP bought a new position in shares of Ardelyx in the 1st quarter worth approximately $341,000. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Ardelyx by 2.8% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 13,391,855 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $97,761,000 after purchasing an additional 365,809 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 58.92% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Ardelyx news, CEO Michael Raab sold 35,000 shares of Ardelyx stock in a transaction on Wednesday, September 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $5.61, for a total value of $196,350.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 1,220,608 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,847,610.88. This trade represents a 2.79 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CFO Justin A. Renz sold 5,289 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $5.86, for a total value of $30,993.54. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 295,257 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,730,206.02. The trade was a 1.76 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 247,983 shares of company stock valued at $1,514,002. Insiders own 5.90% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages recently weighed in on ARDX. Wedbush reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $11.00 price target on shares of Ardelyx in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. StockNews.com raised shares of Ardelyx from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st. Citigroup decreased their price target 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. Finally, HC Wainwright lowered shares of Ardelyx from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and dropped their price objective for the stock from $11.00 to $5.50 in a research note on Monday. Three 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 data from MarketBeat, Ardelyx currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $10.42.

Ardelyx Stock Up 1.1 %

Ardelyx stock traded up $0.05 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $4.76. The stock had a trading volume of 1,656,063 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,947,271. Ardelyx, Inc. has a one year low of $3.83 and a one year high of $10.13. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $5.97 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $6.27. The company has a market capitalization of $1.13 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -15.70 and a beta of 0.92. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64, a current ratio of 4.03 and a quick ratio of 3.87.

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.