Ironwood Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:IRWD) Shares Up 11.1% – Time to Buy?

Shares of Ironwood Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:IRWD) rose 11.1% during mid-day trading on Monday . The company traded as high as $3.87 and last traded at $3.81. Approximately 560,367 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 80% from the average daily volume of 2,832,662 shares. The stock had previously closed at $3.43.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on IRWD shares. Leerink Partners assumed coverage on shares of Ironwood Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Monday, September 9th. They issued a “market perform” rating and a $5.00 target price for the company. StockNews.com cut shares of Ironwood Pharmaceuticals from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 12th. Finally, Leerink Partnrs raised Ironwood Pharmaceuticals to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, September 9th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Ironwood Pharmaceuticals has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $10.40.

Ironwood Pharmaceuticals Price Performance

The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $4.06 and its 200 day simple moving average is $5.07. The stock has a market cap of $636.92 million, a P/E ratio of -124.67 and a beta of 0.41.

Ironwood Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:IRWD) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, November 7th. The biotechnology company reported $0.02 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.09 by ($0.07). The firm had revenue of $91.60 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $91.22 million. Ironwood Pharmaceuticals had a negative net margin of 0.65% and a negative return on equity of 0.96%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 19.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.12 EPS. Research analysts predict that Ironwood Pharmaceuticals, Inc. will post 0.08 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CFO Sravan Kumar Emany sold 11,001 shares of Ironwood Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction on Monday, November 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $4.08, for a total value of $44,884.08. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 309,572 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,263,053.76. This trade represents a 3.43 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 12.90% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Ironwood Pharmaceuticals

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD increased its position in shares of Ironwood Pharmaceuticals by 6.2% during the first quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 85,577 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $746,000 after acquiring an additional 4,993 shares during the last quarter. CWM LLC boosted its stake in shares of Ironwood Pharmaceuticals by 55.1% in the 2nd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 6,600 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $43,000 after purchasing an additional 2,345 shares in the last quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC grew its stake in shares of Ironwood Pharmaceuticals by 78.9% during the second quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 18,769 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $122,000 after buying an additional 8,277 shares during the last quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. lifted its position in shares of Ironwood Pharmaceuticals by 7.3% in the 2nd quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. now owns 59,967 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $391,000 after purchasing an additional 4,100 shares during the period. Finally, Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of Ironwood Pharmaceuticals by 1,058.9% during the second quarter. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. now owns 129,649 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $845,000 after purchasing an additional 118,462 shares in the last quarter.

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.