Ironwood Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:IRWD) Sees Significant Decrease in Short Interest

Ironwood Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:IRWD) was the target of a large decline in short interest in the month of June. As of June 15th, there was short interest totalling 20,220,000 shares, a decline of 10.8% from the May 31st total of 22,660,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 2,760,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 7.3 days. Approximately 13.1% of the shares of the company are sold short.

Ironwood Pharmaceuticals Stock Performance

Shares of IRWD traded down $0.11 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $6.11. 807,953 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,766,947. The company has a market cap of $956.40 million, a PE ratio of -0.90 and a beta of 0.52. Ironwood Pharmaceuticals has a 52-week low of $5.47 and a 52-week high of $15.70. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $6.63 and a two-hundred day moving average of $9.62.

Ironwood Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:IRWD) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 9th. The biotechnology company reported ($0.02) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.18 by ($0.20). The firm had revenue of $74.90 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $105.75 million. Ironwood Pharmaceuticals had a negative return on equity of 28.45% and a negative net margin of 254.41%. The firm’s revenue was down 28.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.25 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Ironwood Pharmaceuticals will post 0.56 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Ironwood Pharmaceuticals

In other news, Director Julie Mchugh sold 22,766 shares of Ironwood Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $6.29, for a total transaction of $143,198.14. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 139,528 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $877,631.12. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In other news, Director Julie Mchugh sold 22,766 shares of Ironwood Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $6.29, for a total transaction of $143,198.14. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 139,528 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $877,631.12. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Catherine Moukheibir sold 44,426 shares of Ironwood Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $6.36, for a total value of $282,549.36. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 84,207 shares in the company, valued at $535,556.52. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 12.90% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Ironwood Pharmaceuticals

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Signaturefd LLC increased its position in shares of Ironwood Pharmaceuticals by 61.4% during the 4th quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 2,160 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 822 shares during the last quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Ironwood Pharmaceuticals by 331.6% during the 4th quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 2,473 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 1,900 shares during the last quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. boosted its position in Ironwood Pharmaceuticals by 152.2% during the fourth quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 4,383 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $50,000 after purchasing an additional 2,645 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its position in Ironwood Pharmaceuticals by 344.1% during the second quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 10,526 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $69,000 after purchasing an additional 8,156 shares in the last quarter. Finally, SG Americas Securities LLC bought a new stake in Ironwood Pharmaceuticals during the first quarter valued at about $91,000.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts recently commented on the company. Craig Hallum lowered their price target on Ironwood Pharmaceuticals from $18.00 to $14.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, May 10th. StockNews.com raised Ironwood Pharmaceuticals from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, June 18th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to data from MarketBeat.com, Ironwood Pharmaceuticals has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $18.40.

Ironwood Pharmaceuticals Company Profile

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.