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

Ironwood Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:IRWD) dropped 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 changed 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.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

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

Ironwood Pharmaceuticals Stock Down 0.4%

The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $3.57 and a 200-day simple moving average of $2.03. The stock has a market capitalization of $732.06 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.13 and a beta of 0.18.

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

Institutional Trading of Ironwood Pharmaceuticals

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Armistice Capital LLC increased its stake in Ironwood Pharmaceuticals by 17.9% during the 2nd quarter. Armistice Capital LLC now owns 16,150,000 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $11,583,000 after purchasing an additional 2,450,000 shares in the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE raised its position in 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 valued at $15,321,000 after buying an additional 8,337,672 shares during the last quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Ironwood Pharmaceuticals by 147.6% in the second quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 6,549,687 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $4,685,000 after purchasing an additional 3,904,498 shares during the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Ironwood Pharmaceuticals by 186.6% in the first 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. Finally, AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of 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 valued at $4,422,000 after purchasing an additional 3,641,762 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.