Ironwood Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:IRWD) Sees Strong Trading Volume – Should You Buy?

Ironwood Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:IRWD) saw unusually-strong trading volume on Tuesday . Approximately 8,104,427 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, an increase of 65% from the previous session’s volume of 4,902,642 shares.The stock last traded at $3.2450 and had previously closed at $3.37.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on IRWD shares. Craig Hallum raised shares of Ironwood Pharmaceuticals from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, January 5th. Citizens Jmp lifted 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 note on Thursday, February 26th. Zacks Research lowered Ironwood Pharmaceuticals from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 25th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on Ironwood Pharmaceuticals from $3.00 to $5.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, January 5th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group restated a “hold” rating and set a $3.70 price objective on shares of Ironwood Pharmaceuticals in a report on Thursday, February 26th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have issued a Buy rating, four have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $4.93.

Ironwood Pharmaceuticals Stock Performance

The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $4.30 and its 200 day moving average price is $3.03. The firm has a market cap of $530.66 million, a P/E ratio of 25.19 and a beta of 0.24.

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

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in IRWD. Armistice Capital LLC grew its stake in Ironwood Pharmaceuticals by 17.9% in the second quarter. Armistice Capital LLC now owns 16,150,000 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $11,583,000 after purchasing an additional 2,450,000 shares during the last quarter. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH lifted its position in shares of Ironwood Pharmaceuticals by 26.0% during the second quarter. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH now owns 526,775 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $378,000 after buying an additional 108,822 shares during the last quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. boosted its holdings in shares of Ironwood Pharmaceuticals by 48.3% in the 2nd quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. now owns 2,206,948 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $1,583,000 after buying an additional 718,904 shares in the last quarter. Savant Capital LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Ironwood Pharmaceuticals by 134.2% in the 2nd quarter. Savant Capital LLC now owns 267,776 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $192,000 after buying an additional 153,427 shares in the last quarter. Finally, State of Wyoming grew its position in shares of Ironwood Pharmaceuticals by 76.2% in the 3rd quarter. State of Wyoming now owns 362,407 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $475,000 after buying an additional 156,763 shares during the last quarter.

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.