Wells Fargo & Company Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation for Ironwood Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:IRWD) Stock

Ironwood Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:IRWD) had its price objective boosted by research analysts at Wells Fargo & Company from $3.00 to $5.00 in a research report issued on Monday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an “equal weight” rating on the biotechnology company’s stock. Wells Fargo & Company‘s price target indicates a potential upside of 7.48% from the company’s current price.

A number of other analysts also recently weighed in on IRWD. Weiss Ratings reissued a “sell (d)” rating on shares of Ironwood Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Citigroup upgraded Ironwood Pharmaceuticals from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday. Citizens Jmp upgraded Ironwood Pharmaceuticals from a “market perform” rating to a “market outperform” rating and set a $8.00 price objective on the stock in a research note on Monday. Finally, Zacks Research raised shares of Ironwood Pharmaceuticals from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have assigned a Buy rating, four have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $6.12.

Ironwood Pharmaceuticals Trading Up 8.9%

IRWD stock traded up $0.38 during trading on Monday, reaching $4.65. The stock had a trading volume of 10,951,293 shares, compared to its average volume of 47,842,266. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $3.06 and a 200 day moving average price of $1.80. The company has a market capitalization of $756.79 million, a P/E ratio of 29.03 and a beta of 0.18. Ironwood Pharmaceuticals has a 1-year low of $0.53 and a 1-year high of $5.78.

Ironwood Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:IRWD) last announced its earnings results on Monday, November 10th. The biotechnology company reported $0.24 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.09 by $0.15. The business had revenue of $122.06 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $74.22 million. Ironwood Pharmaceuticals had a negative return on equity of 15.17% and a net margin of 8.70%. Sell-side analysts predict that Ironwood Pharmaceuticals will post 0.1 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Bank of America Corp DE grew its position in Ironwood Pharmaceuticals by 248.3% in the 3rd quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 11,695,544 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $15,321,000 after purchasing an additional 8,337,672 shares during the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC increased its stake in Ironwood Pharmaceuticals by 186.6% during the first quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 6,359,682 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $9,349,000 after acquiring an additional 4,140,439 shares during the period. Acadian Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in Ironwood Pharmaceuticals by 147.6% in the 2nd quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 6,549,687 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $4,685,000 after acquiring an additional 3,904,498 shares in the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in Ironwood Pharmaceuticals by 144.3% in the 2nd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 6,165,637 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $4,422,000 after acquiring an additional 3,641,762 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Marshall Wace LLP lifted its position in shares of Ironwood Pharmaceuticals by 616.3% in the 2nd quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 3,993,557 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $2,875,000 after acquiring an additional 3,436,036 shares during the period.

About Ironwood Pharmaceuticals

Ironwood Pharmaceuticals, Inc is a commercial‐stage biotechnology company focused on the discovery, development and commercialization of medicines for gastrointestinal (GI) disorders. The company’s flagship product is linaclotide, marketed under the brand name LINZESS in the United States for the treatment of irritable bowel syndrome with constipation (IBS-C) and chronic idiopathic constipation (CIC). Through a strategic collaboration with Allergan (now part of AbbVie), Ironwood also commercializes linaclotide in select ex-U.S.