Ironwood Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:IRWD) Trading Up 9.7% – Still a Buy?

Ironwood Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:IRWD) shares rose 9.7% during mid-day trading on Thursday . The company traded as high as $3.61 and last traded at $3.6740. Approximately 1,051,525 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 70% from the average daily volume of 3,560,417 shares. The stock had previously closed at $3.35.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Wall Street Zen raised Ironwood Pharmaceuticals from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Sunday, May 17th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “sell (d+)” rating on shares of Ironwood Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Monday, April 27th. Citizens Jmp increased their price target on shares of Ironwood Pharmaceuticals from $8.00 to $10.00 and gave the company a “market outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 26th. Jefferies Financial Group restated a “hold” rating and issued a $3.70 target price on shares of Ironwood Pharmaceuticals in a report on Thursday, February 26th. Finally, Zacks Research downgraded Ironwood Pharmaceuticals from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 25th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have given a Buy rating, three have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Ironwood Pharmaceuticals has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $6.23.

Ironwood Pharmaceuticals Stock Up 12.1%

The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $3.82 and its 200 day simple moving average is $3.87. The stock has a market capitalization of $612.29 million, a P/E ratio of 6.26 and a beta of 0.25.

Ironwood Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:IRWD) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 7th. The biotechnology company reported $0.24 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.25 by ($0.01). Ironwood Pharmaceuticals had a net margin of 28.26% and a negative return on equity of 39.65%. The firm had revenue of $106.51 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $92.11 million. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Ironwood Pharmaceuticals, Inc. will post 1.04 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Alexander J. Denner sold 6,730,800 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $3.05, for a total transaction of $20,528,940.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 9,188,635 shares in the company, valued at approximately $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 can be accessed through this hyperlink. 9.30% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Ironwood Pharmaceuticals

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. AQR Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in Ironwood Pharmaceuticals by 535.8% in the 1st quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 2,523,875 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $3,710,000 after acquiring an additional 2,126,889 shares in the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC boosted 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 acquiring an additional 4,140,439 shares in the last quarter. Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd acquired a new position in Ironwood Pharmaceuticals in the first quarter worth about $57,000. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Ironwood Pharmaceuticals by 72.1% during the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 1,575,416 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $2,316,000 after purchasing an additional 660,144 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Jane Street Group LLC grew its stake in shares of Ironwood Pharmaceuticals by 740.5% in the 1st quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 3,510,117 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $5,160,000 after purchasing an additional 3,092,475 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.