Ironwood Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:IRWD) Sees Unusually-High Trading Volume – Time to Buy?

Ironwood Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:IRWD) saw strong trading volume on Tuesday . Approximately 2,917,703 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 11% from the previous session’s volume of 3,290,406 shares.The stock last traded at $4.3850 and had previously closed at $4.42.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on IRWD shares. Wall Street Zen upgraded Ironwood Pharmaceuticals from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Sunday, May 17th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “sell (d+)” rating on shares of Ironwood Pharmaceuticals in a report on Friday, July 24th. Finally, Zacks Research downgraded shares of Ironwood Pharmaceuticals from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 30th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have assigned a Buy rating, three have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Ironwood Pharmaceuticals presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $6.23.

Ironwood Pharmaceuticals Trading Down 3.7%

The firm has a fifty day moving average of $3.87 and a 200 day moving average of $3.97. The company has a market capitalization of $676.70 million, a P/E ratio of 6.92 and a beta of 0.20.

Ironwood Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:IRWD) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, August 6th. The biotechnology company reported $0.31 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.32 by ($0.01). The firm had revenue of $113.04 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $114.84 million. Ironwood Pharmaceuticals had a net margin of 28.26% and a negative return on equity of 39.65%. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Ironwood Pharmaceuticals, Inc. will post 1.04 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Ironwood Pharmaceuticals

In other news, insider Ronald Silver sold 127,890 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $4.52, for a total value of $578,062.80. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 313,680 shares in the company, valued at $1,417,833.60. The trade was a 28.96% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Julie Mchugh sold 21,571 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $3.73, for a total transaction of $80,459.83. Following the sale, the director owned 250,749 shares in the company, valued at $935,293.77. This represents a 7.92% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Company insiders own 9.30% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Ironwood Pharmaceuticals

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Pacer Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Ironwood Pharmaceuticals in the 1st quarter worth approximately $3,982,000. Segall Bryant & Hamill LLC purchased a new position in Ironwood Pharmaceuticals during the first quarter worth $976,000. Bull Harbor Capital LLC bought a new position in Ironwood Pharmaceuticals during the first quarter valued at $48,000. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Ironwood Pharmaceuticals by 48.7% in the 1st quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 20,336 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $71,000 after acquiring an additional 6,656 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Quantinno Capital Management LP grew its holdings in Ironwood Pharmaceuticals by 9.1% during the 1st quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP now owns 129,703 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $455,000 after purchasing an additional 10,810 shares during 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.