Ironwood Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:IRWD) Trading Up 10.7% – Here’s What Happened

Ironwood Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:IRWD)’s share price was up 10.7% during mid-day trading on Monday . The stock traded as high as $4.50 and last traded at $4.4940. Approximately 2,847,290 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 83% from the average daily volume of 16,333,295 shares. The stock had previously closed at $4.06.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on IRWD shares. Citizens Jmp upgraded shares of Ironwood Pharmaceuticals from a “market perform” rating to a “market outperform” rating and set a $8.00 price objective on the stock in a report on Monday, January 5th. Craig Hallum upgraded shares of Ironwood Pharmaceuticals from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, January 5th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on Ironwood Pharmaceuticals from $3.00 to $5.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, January 5th. Citigroup raised Ironwood Pharmaceuticals from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, January 5th. Finally, Zacks Research upgraded shares of Ironwood Pharmaceuticals from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 1st. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have issued a Buy rating, three have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $6.12.

Ironwood Pharmaceuticals Stock Performance

The company has a market capitalization of $727.18 million, a P/E ratio of 27.94 and a beta of 0.18. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $3.37 and its 200-day simple moving average is $1.94.

Ironwood Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:IRWD) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, November 10th. The biotechnology company reported $0.24 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.09 by $0.15. Ironwood Pharmaceuticals had a negative return on equity of 15.17% and a net margin of 8.70%.The firm had revenue of $122.06 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $74.22 million. As a group, analysts forecast that Ironwood Pharmaceuticals, Inc. will post 0.1 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Ironwood Pharmaceuticals

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of IRWD. Bank of America Corp DE grew its position in Ironwood Pharmaceuticals by 248.3% in the third quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 11,695,544 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $15,321,000 after acquiring an additional 8,337,672 shares in the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC increased its position in shares of Ironwood Pharmaceuticals by 186.6% during the 1st quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 6,359,682 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $9,349,000 after purchasing an additional 4,140,439 shares during the last quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in Ironwood Pharmaceuticals by 147.6% during the 2nd quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 6,549,687 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $4,685,000 after buying an additional 3,904,498 shares during the period. AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its position in Ironwood Pharmaceuticals by 144.3% in the second quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 6,165,637 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $4,422,000 after buying an additional 3,641,762 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Marshall Wace LLP lifted its position in Ironwood Pharmaceuticals by 616.3% in the second quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 3,993,557 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $2,875,000 after buying an additional 3,436,036 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.