Ironwood Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:IRWD) Trading Down 4.3% – Should You Sell?

Ironwood Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:IRWD) dropped 4.3% during trading on Wednesday . The stock traded as low as $3.55 and last traded at $3.56. Approximately 61,270 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 98% from the average daily volume of 2,827,905 shares. The stock had previously closed at $3.72.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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

Ironwood Pharmaceuticals Stock Performance

The stock’s 50 day moving average is $4.03 and its two-hundred day moving average is $5.02.

Ironwood Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:IRWD) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, November 7th. The biotechnology company reported $0.02 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.09 by ($0.07). Ironwood Pharmaceuticals had a negative net margin of 0.65% and a negative return on equity of 0.96%. The firm had revenue of $91.60 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $91.22 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.12 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 19.4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts predict that Ironwood Pharmaceuticals, Inc. will post 0.08 EPS for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Ironwood Pharmaceuticals news, CFO Sravan Kumar Emany sold 11,001 shares of the 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 in the company, valued at $1,263,053.76. This trade represents a 3.43 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Insiders own 12.90% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Ironwood Pharmaceuticals

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Armistice Capital LLC boosted its stake in Ironwood Pharmaceuticals by 44.4% in the 2nd quarter. Armistice Capital LLC now owns 7,800,000 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $50,856,000 after purchasing an additional 2,400,000 shares during the period. Pacer Advisors Inc. boosted its position in shares of Ironwood Pharmaceuticals by 26.6% in the third quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 11,279,822 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $46,473,000 after acquiring an additional 2,372,183 shares during the period. Renaissance Technologies LLC grew its stake in shares of Ironwood Pharmaceuticals by 20.7% in the second quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 8,571,898 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $55,889,000 after acquiring an additional 1,472,097 shares in the last quarter. Stonepine Capital Management LLC increased its position in Ironwood Pharmaceuticals by 1,982.8% during the third quarter. Stonepine Capital Management LLC now owns 1,000,000 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $4,120,000 after acquiring an additional 951,988 shares during the period. Finally, State Street Corp increased its position in Ironwood Pharmaceuticals by 7.3% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 9,919,865 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $40,870,000 after acquiring an additional 677,024 shares during the period.

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.