Ironwood Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:IRWD) Trading Up 7.8% – What’s Next?

Ironwood Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:IRWD)’s stock price was up 7.8% on Wednesday . The company traded as high as $4.32 and last traded at $4.3540. Approximately 807,795 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 81% from the average daily volume of 4,264,050 shares. The stock had previously closed at $4.04.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on IRWD shares. Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a “hold” rating and set a $3.70 target price on shares of Ironwood Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Thursday, February 26th. Craig Hallum raised shares of Ironwood Pharmaceuticals from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, January 5th. Citizens Jmp increased their price target on shares of Ironwood Pharmaceuticals from $8.00 to $10.00 and gave the stock a “market outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, February 26th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on shares of Ironwood Pharmaceuticals from $3.00 to $5.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, January 5th. Finally, Zacks Research downgraded shares of Ironwood Pharmaceuticals from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 25th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have issued a Buy rating, three have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $6.23.

Ironwood Pharmaceuticals Price Performance

The business’s 50 day moving average is $3.75 and its two-hundred day moving average is $3.36. The firm has a market capitalization of $706.04 million, a PE ratio of 33.31 and a beta of 0.17.

Ironwood Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:IRWD) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, February 25th. The biotechnology company reported ($0.01) earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.02 by ($0.03). The company had revenue of $47.71 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $86.10 million. Ironwood Pharmaceuticals had a net margin of 8.11% and a negative return on equity of 13.72%. Analysts expect that Ironwood Pharmaceuticals, Inc. will post 0.1 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Ironwood Pharmaceuticals news, Director Alexander J. Denner sold 6,730,800 shares of Ironwood Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $3.05, for a total transaction of $20,528,940.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 9,188,635 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $28,025,336.75. This trade represents a 42.28% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 12.70% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. ProShare Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Ironwood Pharmaceuticals by 9.6% during the fourth quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 36,315 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $122,000 after acquiring an additional 3,170 shares in the last quarter. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC raised its stake in shares of Ironwood Pharmaceuticals by 21.4% during the third quarter. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC now owns 19,295 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $25,000 after acquiring an additional 3,406 shares in the last quarter. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV raised its stake in shares of Ironwood Pharmaceuticals by 7.8% during the fourth quarter. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV now owns 76,951 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $259,000 after acquiring an additional 5,598 shares in the last quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio raised its stake in shares of Ironwood Pharmaceuticals by 11.7% during the fourth quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio now owns 67,888 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $229,000 after acquiring an additional 7,120 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Merit Financial Group LLC raised its stake in shares of Ironwood Pharmaceuticals by 17.4% during the third quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC now owns 48,879 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $64,000 after acquiring an additional 7,232 shares in the last quarter.

Ironwood Pharmaceuticals Company Profile

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.