Renaissance Technologies LLC Lowers Holdings in Ardelyx, Inc. $ARDX

Renaissance Technologies LLC trimmed its position in Ardelyx, Inc. (NASDAQ:ARDX) by 29.1% in the 1st quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 1,272,441 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock after selling 522,352 shares during the quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC’s holdings in Ardelyx were worth $7,622,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in ARDX. Knott David M Jr bought a new position in shares of Ardelyx in the first quarter worth $1,240,000. Sei Investments Co. grew its position in Ardelyx by 36.6% during the first quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 134,413 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $805,000 after buying an additional 35,989 shares in the last quarter. State of Wyoming increased its stake in Ardelyx by 143.1% in the 1st quarter. State of Wyoming now owns 30,870 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $185,000 after acquiring an additional 18,169 shares during the last quarter. First Trust Advisors LP increased its stake in Ardelyx by 44.6% in the 1st quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 1,498,798 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $8,978,000 after acquiring an additional 462,306 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Swiss National Bank raised its holdings in shares of Ardelyx by 1.2% in the 1st quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 480,800 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $2,880,000 after acquiring an additional 5,600 shares in the last quarter. 58.92% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on ARDX shares. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH initiated coverage on shares of Ardelyx in a report on Tuesday, June 16th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $16.00 price target on the stock. Weiss Ratings lowered shares of Ardelyx from a “sell (d-)” rating to a “sell (e+)” rating in a research report on Monday, June 29th. Finally, Zacks Research cut Ardelyx from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 22nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have issued a Buy rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $15.73.

Insider Transactions at Ardelyx

In other Ardelyx news, insider Mike Kelliher sold 7,248 shares of Ardelyx stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $6.27, for a total value of $45,444.96. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 357,418 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,241,010.86. The trade was a 1.99% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Eric Duane Foster sold 7,998 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $6.27, for a total value of $50,147.46. Following the sale, the insider owned 417,972 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,620,684.44. This represents a 1.88% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. 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 Stock Performance

NASDAQ:ARDX opened at $4.98 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 3.28, a current ratio of 3.49 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.37. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $5.49 and its 200 day simple moving average is $6.13. The stock has a market cap of $1.23 billion, a P/E ratio of -21.65 and a beta of 0.70. Ardelyx, Inc. has a twelve month low of $4.24 and a twelve month high of $8.40.

About Ardelyx

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.