Ironwood Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:IRWD) Stock Price Up 9% – Time to Buy?

Ironwood Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:IRWD)’s stock price shot up 9% during trading on Monday . The stock traded as high as $3.34 and last traded at $3.3150. 590,621 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 88% from the average session volume of 4,985,588 shares. The stock had previously closed at $3.04.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Craig Hallum upgraded Ironwood Pharmaceuticals from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, January 5th. Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a “hold” rating and set a $3.70 price target on shares of Ironwood Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Thursday, February 26th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “sell (d)” rating on shares of Ironwood Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Zacks Research lowered shares of Ironwood Pharmaceuticals from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 25th. Finally, Wall Street Zen cut shares of Ironwood Pharmaceuticals from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, March 7th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have given a Buy rating, four have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Ironwood Pharmaceuticals presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $4.93.

Ironwood Pharmaceuticals Price Performance

The business has a fifty day moving average of $4.23 and a 200 day moving average of $3.08. The stock has a market cap of $535.65 million, a PE ratio of 25.35 and a beta of 0.24.

Ironwood Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:IRWD) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, February 25th. The biotechnology company reported ($0.01) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.02 by ($0.03). The business 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%. On average, equities research analysts expect that Ironwood Pharmaceuticals, Inc. will post 0.1 EPS for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Ironwood Pharmaceuticals

In other Ironwood Pharmaceuticals news, Director Alexander J. Denner sold 6,730,800 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $3.05, for a total transaction of $20,528,940.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 9,188,635 shares in the company, valued at $28,025,336.75. This represents a 42.28% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. 12.70% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Ironwood Pharmaceuticals

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of IRWD. Armistice Capital LLC lifted its position in shares of Ironwood Pharmaceuticals by 17.9% during the second quarter. Armistice Capital LLC now owns 16,150,000 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $11,583,000 after purchasing an additional 2,450,000 shares during the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE raised its stake in Ironwood Pharmaceuticals by 248.3% during the third quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 11,695,544 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $15,321,000 after buying an additional 8,337,672 shares in the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC lifted its holdings in Ironwood Pharmaceuticals by 186.6% during the 1st quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 6,359,682 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $9,349,000 after buying an additional 4,140,439 shares during the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in Ironwood Pharmaceuticals by 144.3% during the 2nd 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, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its position in shares of Ironwood Pharmaceuticals by 1.2% in the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 4,975,939 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $16,769,000 after acquiring an additional 58,603 shares in 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.