Ironwood Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:IRWD) Sees Large Volume Increase – Here’s What Happened

Shares of Ironwood Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:IRWD) saw an uptick in trading volume on Tuesday . 8,104,427 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, an increase of 65% from the previous session’s volume of 4,902,642 shares.The stock last traded at $3.2450 and had previously closed at $3.37.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have commented on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group restated a “hold” rating and set a $3.70 price target on shares of Ironwood Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Thursday, February 26th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “sell (d)” rating on shares of Ironwood Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Wall Street Zen cut Ironwood Pharmaceuticals from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, March 7th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on Ironwood Pharmaceuticals from $3.00 to $5.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, January 5th. Finally, Citizens Jmp upped their price target on Ironwood Pharmaceuticals from $8.00 to $10.00 and gave the company a “market outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 26th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have assigned a Buy rating, four have issued a Hold rating and one has issued 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 Trading Down 0.1%

The stock has a market capitalization of $515.04 million, a P/E ratio of 24.46 and a beta of 0.24. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $4.26 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $3.04.

Ironwood Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:IRWD) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 25th. The biotechnology company reported ($0.01) EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.02 by ($0.03). Ironwood Pharmaceuticals had a negative return on equity of 13.72% and a net margin of 8.11%.The company had revenue of $47.71 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $86.10 million. As a group, analysts forecast that Ironwood Pharmaceuticals, Inc. will post 0.1 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

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

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Ironwood Pharmaceuticals

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. LSV Asset Management acquired a new position in Ironwood Pharmaceuticals during the fourth quarter worth approximately $30,000. Jump Financial LLC bought a new position in shares of Ironwood Pharmaceuticals during the 4th quarter worth approximately $34,000. DGS Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Ironwood Pharmaceuticals during the 4th quarter worth approximately $35,000. Cibc World Markets Corp bought a new stake in Ironwood Pharmaceuticals in the 4th quarter valued at $36,000. Finally, Simplify Asset Management Inc. bought a new stake in Ironwood Pharmaceuticals in the 4th quarter valued at $37,000.

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.