Ironwood Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:IRWD) Sees Large Growth in Short Interest

Ironwood Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:IRWD) saw a significant growth in short interest during the month of March. As of March 15th, there was short interest totalling 16,250,000 shares, a growth of 34.9% from the February 28th total of 12,050,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 3,340,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 4.9 days. Approximately 10.5% of the shares of the company are short sold.

Ironwood Pharmaceuticals Trading Up 4.6 %

NASDAQ:IRWD traded up $0.07 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $1.48. 1,410,642 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,423,302. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $2.04 and a 200 day moving average price of $3.38. Ironwood Pharmaceuticals has a 1-year low of $1.34 and a 1-year high of $8.64. The firm has a market capitalization of $236.04 million, a PE ratio of -49.33 and a beta of 0.37.

Ironwood Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:IRWD) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 27th. The biotechnology company reported $0.02 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.10 by ($0.08). Ironwood Pharmaceuticals had a negative return on equity of 0.96% and a negative net margin of 0.65%. The business had revenue of $90.55 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $93.85 million. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Ironwood Pharmaceuticals will post 0.1 earnings per share for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms recently commented on IRWD. Craig Hallum cut their target price on Ironwood Pharmaceuticals from $10.00 to $8.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, January 22nd. JMP Securities reduced their price objective on shares of Ironwood Pharmaceuticals from $23.00 to $14.00 and set a “market outperform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, StockNews.com raised shares of Ironwood Pharmaceuticals from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $8.60.

Insider Activity

In other Ironwood Pharmaceuticals news, CEO Thomas A. Mccourt sold 139,064 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $1.76, for a total transaction of $244,752.64. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,160,634 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,042,715.84. The trade was a 10.70 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CMO Michael Shetzline sold 41,269 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $1.76, for a total transaction of $72,633.44. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief marketing officer now owns 554,007 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $975,052.32. This trade represents a 6.93 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 192,381 shares of company stock valued at $338,591. 12.90% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Ironwood Pharmaceuticals

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of IRWD. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. acquired a new stake in shares of Ironwood Pharmaceuticals during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $36,000. Journey Strategic Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in Ironwood Pharmaceuticals in the 4th quarter worth approximately $45,000. Catalyst Funds Management Pty Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of Ironwood Pharmaceuticals during the 4th quarter valued at $47,000. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Ironwood Pharmaceuticals during the 4th quarter valued at $50,000. Finally, Xponance Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Ironwood Pharmaceuticals in the fourth quarter worth $50,000.

About Ironwood Pharmaceuticals

Ironwood Pharmaceuticals, Inc, a healthcare company, focuses on the development and commercialization of gastrointestinal (GI) products. It markets linaclotide, a guanylate cyclase type-C (GC-C) agonist for the treatment of adults suffering from irritable bowel syndrome with constipation or chronic idiopathic constipation under the LINZESS name in the United States, Mexico, Japan, Saudi Arabia, and China, as well as under the CONSTELLA name in the Canada and European countries.