Ironwood Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:IRWD) Shares Gap Down – Here’s Why

Shares of Ironwood Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:IRWD) gapped down before the market opened on Wednesday . The stock had previously closed at $3.79, but opened at $3.60. Ironwood Pharmaceuticals shares last traded at $3.2410, with a volume of 3,381,055 shares traded.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have recently commented on IRWD. Zacks Research raised shares of Ironwood Pharmaceuticals from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 1st. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on Ironwood Pharmaceuticals from $3.00 to $5.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, January 5th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “sell (d)” rating on shares of Ironwood Pharmaceuticals in a report on Monday, December 29th. Citigroup upgraded Ironwood Pharmaceuticals from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, January 5th. Finally, Citizens Jmp upgraded shares of Ironwood Pharmaceuticals from a “market perform” rating to a “market outperform” rating and set a $8.00 target price for the company in a research note on Monday, January 5th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have assigned a Buy rating, three have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $3.68.

Ironwood Pharmaceuticals Price Performance

The firm has a market cap of $529.52 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.41 and a beta of 0.17. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $4.27 and its two-hundred day moving average is $2.79.

Ironwood Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:IRWD) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 26th. The biotechnology company reported ($0.01) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.02 by ($0.03). The firm had revenue of $47.71 million for the quarter. Ironwood Pharmaceuticals had a net margin of 8.70% and a negative return on equity of 15.17%. On average, equities analysts forecast that Ironwood Pharmaceuticals, Inc. will post 0.1 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Ironwood Pharmaceuticals

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Armistice Capital LLC grew its holdings in shares of Ironwood Pharmaceuticals by 17.9% during the second quarter. Armistice Capital LLC now owns 16,150,000 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $11,583,000 after buying an additional 2,450,000 shares in the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE increased its holdings in shares of 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 valued at $15,321,000 after purchasing an additional 8,337,672 shares during the period. Acadian Asset Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Ironwood Pharmaceuticals by 147.6% in the second quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 6,549,687 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $4,685,000 after purchasing an additional 3,904,498 shares in the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Ironwood Pharmaceuticals by 186.6% in the first quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 6,359,682 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $9,349,000 after purchasing an additional 4,140,439 shares in the last quarter. Finally, AQR Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Ironwood Pharmaceuticals by 144.3% during the second quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 6,165,637 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $4,422,000 after purchasing an additional 3,641,762 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.