Ironwood Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:IRWD) Stock Price Up 9% – What’s Next?

Shares of Ironwood Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:IRWD) were up 9% during mid-day trading on Monday . The stock traded as high as $3.34 and last traded at $3.3150. Approximately 590,621 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 88% from the average daily volume of 4,985,588 shares. The stock had previously closed at $3.04.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

IRWD has been the topic of a number of research reports. Zacks Research cut shares of Ironwood Pharmaceuticals from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 25th. Citigroup raised shares of Ironwood Pharmaceuticals from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, January 5th. Craig Hallum raised shares of Ironwood Pharmaceuticals from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, January 5th. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Ironwood Pharmaceuticals from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, March 7th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on Ironwood Pharmaceuticals from $3.00 to $5.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, January 5th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have given a Buy rating, four have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Ironwood Pharmaceuticals has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $4.93.

Ironwood Pharmaceuticals Stock Performance

The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $4.23 and its 200-day simple moving average is $3.08. The stock has a market capitalization of $535.65 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.35 and a beta of 0.24.

Ironwood Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:IRWD) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 25th. The biotechnology company reported ($0.01) EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.02 by ($0.03). The firm had revenue of $47.71 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates 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, sell-side analysts expect that Ironwood Pharmaceuticals, Inc. will post 0.1 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Alexander J. Denner sold 6,730,800 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $3.05, for a total value of $20,528,940.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 9,188,635 shares in the company, valued at $28,025,336.75. This trade represents a 42.28% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. 12.70% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of IRWD. ProShare Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Ironwood Pharmaceuticals by 9.6% in the fourth quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 36,315 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $122,000 after buying an additional 3,170 shares during the period. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC grew its holdings in 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 during the period. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV raised its position in Ironwood Pharmaceuticals by 7.8% in 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 position in Ironwood Pharmaceuticals by 11.7% in 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 lifted its holdings in Ironwood Pharmaceuticals by 17.4% in the 3rd quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC now owns 48,879 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $64,000 after acquiring an additional 7,232 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.