Ironwood Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:IRWD) Shares Up 5.8% – Here’s What Happened

Ironwood Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:IRWD) shares were up 5.8% during mid-day trading on Tuesday . The stock traded as high as $4.64 and last traded at $4.6350. 1,304,692 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 62% from the average session volume of 3,450,512 shares. The stock had previously closed at $4.38.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have recently weighed in on IRWD. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Ironwood Pharmaceuticals from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 1st. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Ironwood Pharmaceuticals from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Sunday, May 17th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “sell (d+)” rating on shares of Ironwood Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Monday, April 27th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have assigned a Buy rating, two have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Ironwood Pharmaceuticals has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $6.23.

Ironwood Pharmaceuticals Trading Up 4.2%

The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $3.84 and a 200 day simple moving average of $3.92. The stock has a market cap of $744.37 million, a P/E ratio of 7.61 and a beta of 0.20.

Ironwood Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:IRWD) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 7th. The biotechnology company reported $0.24 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates 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 net margin of 28.26% and a negative return on equity of 39.65%. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Ironwood Pharmaceuticals, Inc. will post 1.04 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Ironwood Pharmaceuticals

In other Ironwood Pharmaceuticals news, Director Julie Mchugh sold 21,571 shares of Ironwood Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $3.73, for a total value of $80,459.83. Following the sale, the director directly owned 250,749 shares in the company, valued at approximately $935,293.77. The trade was a 7.92% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Insiders own 9.30% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Ironwood Pharmaceuticals

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Range Financial Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Ironwood Pharmaceuticals during the 4th quarter worth about $1,436,000. Hillsdale Investment Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Ironwood Pharmaceuticals during the fourth quarter worth approximately $3,897,000. GSA Capital Partners LLP increased its stake in shares of Ironwood Pharmaceuticals by 84.7% during the fourth quarter. GSA Capital Partners LLP now owns 571,613 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $1,926,000 after purchasing an additional 262,084 shares during the period. Persistent Asset Partners Ltd acquired a new stake in Ironwood Pharmaceuticals during the 4th quarter worth approximately $613,000. Finally, WINTON GROUP Ltd bought a new stake in Ironwood Pharmaceuticals in the 4th quarter valued at $554,000.

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.