Ironwood Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:IRWD) Stock Price Up 7.4% – What’s Next?

Ironwood Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:IRWD)’s share price shot up 7.4% on Thursday. The company traded as high as $3.84 and last traded at $3.8650. Approximately 569,492 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 81% from the average session volume of 2,953,163 shares. The stock had previously closed at $3.60.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Ironwood Pharmaceuticals from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, September 5th. Zacks Research downgraded shares of Ironwood Pharmaceuticals from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, July 30th. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Ironwood Pharmaceuticals from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 8th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of Ironwood Pharmaceuticals to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, September 25th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have issued a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Ironwood Pharmaceuticals has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $6.23.

Ironwood Pharmaceuticals Trading Up 4.6%

The stock has a market cap of $622.13 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 4.89 and a beta of 0.21. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $4.12 and a 200-day simple moving average of $3.97.

Ironwood Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:IRWD) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 6th. The biotechnology company reported $0.31 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.32 by ($0.01). Ironwood Pharmaceuticals had a negative return on equity of 58.38% and a net margin of 33.36%. The business had revenue of $113.04 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $114.84 million. Sell-side analysts forecast that Ironwood Pharmaceuticals, Inc. will post 1.10 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Ironwood Pharmaceuticals

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership increased its position in Ironwood Pharmaceuticals by 724.5% during the first quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 3,397,242 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $11,924,000 after acquiring an additional 2,985,181 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its holdings in Ironwood Pharmaceuticals by 529.3% in the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 2,082,055 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $7,307,000 after purchasing an additional 1,751,219 shares during the period. Hillsdale Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Ironwood Pharmaceuticals by 6.9% in the 1st quarter. Hillsdale Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,236,628 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $4,341,000 after purchasing an additional 80,250 shares during the period. Pacer Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in Ironwood Pharmaceuticals in the 1st quarter valued at $3,982,000. Finally, Sei Investments Co. grew its position in Ironwood Pharmaceuticals by 10.2% in the 1st quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 742,548 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $2,606,000 after purchasing an additional 68,686 shares during the last quarter.

Ironwood Pharmaceuticals Company Profile

Ironwood Pharmaceuticals, Inc is a gastrointestinal-focused biopharmaceutical company that discovers, develops, and commercializes medicines for gastrointestinal diseases. The company concentrates on conditions affecting the digestive system, including disorders with substantial unmet medical needs.

Ironwood’s principal commercial product is LINZESS (linaclotide), a prescription treatment for adults with irritable bowel syndrome with constipation and chronic idiopathic constipation. In the United States, LINZESS is marketed through a collaboration with AbbVie, while it is marketed in many international markets under the name CONSTELLA through a collaboration with the healthcare business of AstraZeneca and other regional partners.

Founded in 1998 and headquartered in Boston, Massachusetts, Ironwood has expanded its development activities through internal research, partnerships, and acquisitions.