Ironwood Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:IRWD) Stock Price Down 5.4% – Here’s Why

Ironwood Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:IRWD) was down 5.4% during mid-day trading on Thursday . The company traded as low as $4.22 and last traded at $4.2950. Approximately 1,430,545 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 88% from the average daily volume of 12,357,262 shares. The stock had previously closed at $4.54.

Analyst Ratings Changes

IRWD has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Citizens Jmp raised shares of Ironwood Pharmaceuticals from a “market perform” rating to a “market outperform” rating and set a $8.00 target price for the company in a research note on Monday, January 5th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “sell (d)” rating on shares of Ironwood Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Zacks Research raised Ironwood Pharmaceuticals from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 1st. Citigroup upgraded Ironwood Pharmaceuticals from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, January 5th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on Ironwood Pharmaceuticals from $3.00 to $5.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, January 5th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have assigned a Buy rating, three have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Ironwood Pharmaceuticals presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $6.12.

Ironwood Pharmaceuticals Stock Performance

The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $3.47 and its 200 day simple moving average is $1.99. The stock has a market cap of $736.12 million, a PE ratio of 28.22 and a beta of 0.18.

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

Institutional Trading of Ironwood Pharmaceuticals

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in IRWD. Armistice Capital LLC boosted 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 acquiring an additional 2,450,000 shares during the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE raised its holdings in shares of Ironwood Pharmaceuticals by 248.3% in the 3rd quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 11,695,544 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $15,321,000 after purchasing an additional 8,337,672 shares during the period. Acadian Asset Management LLC lifted its position in shares of 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 last quarter. Millennium Management LLC lifted 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 buying an additional 4,140,439 shares during the last quarter. Finally, AQR Capital Management LLC boosted its position in Ironwood Pharmaceuticals by 144.3% during the second quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 6,165,637 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $4,422,000 after purchasing an additional 3,641,762 shares during the period.

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.