Ironwood Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:IRWD) Trading 9.7% Higher – What’s Next?

Ironwood Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:IRWD) rose 9.7% during mid-day trading on Thursday . The stock traded as high as $3.61 and last traded at $3.6740. Approximately 1,051,525 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 70% from the average daily volume of 3,560,417 shares. The stock had previously closed at $3.35.

Analyst Ratings Changes

IRWD has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Ironwood Pharmaceuticals from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Sunday, May 17th. Weiss Ratings restated a “sell (d+)” rating on shares of Ironwood Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Monday, April 27th. Citizens Jmp upped their price target on shares of Ironwood Pharmaceuticals from $8.00 to $10.00 and gave the company a “market outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 26th. Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a “hold” rating and issued a $3.70 target price on shares of Ironwood Pharmaceuticals in a report on Thursday, February 26th. Finally, Zacks Research cut shares of Ironwood Pharmaceuticals from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research 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 assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $6.23.

Ironwood Pharmaceuticals Stock Performance

The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $3.82 and a 200 day moving average price of $3.87. The stock has a market cap of $612.29 million, a PE ratio of 6.26 and a beta of 0.25.

Ironwood Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:IRWD) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 7th. The biotechnology company reported $0.24 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.25 by ($0.01). The business had revenue of $106.51 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $92.11 million. Ironwood Pharmaceuticals had a negative return on equity of 39.65% and a net margin of 28.26%. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Ironwood Pharmaceuticals, Inc. will post 1.04 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Ironwood Pharmaceuticals

In related news, Director Alexander J. Denner sold 6,730,800 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction 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 sale, the director owned 9,188,635 shares in the company, 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 filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 9.30% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Ironwood Pharmaceuticals

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in IRWD. Range Financial Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Ironwood Pharmaceuticals in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,436,000. Hillsdale Investment Management Inc. purchased a new stake in Ironwood Pharmaceuticals during the 4th quarter worth about $3,897,000. GSA Capital Partners LLP raised its holdings in Ironwood Pharmaceuticals by 84.7% in the fourth quarter. GSA Capital Partners LLP now owns 571,613 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $1,926,000 after acquiring an additional 262,084 shares in the last quarter. WINTON GROUP Ltd purchased a new position in shares of Ironwood Pharmaceuticals in the 4th quarter valued at about $554,000. Finally, Strs Ohio boosted its holdings in shares of Ironwood Pharmaceuticals by 27.2% in the 1st quarter. Strs Ohio now owns 97,400 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $342,000 after buying an additional 20,800 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.