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

Ironwood Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:IRWD)’s share price gapped up before the market opened on Wednesday . The stock had previously closed at $3.35, but opened at $3.52. Ironwood Pharmaceuticals shares last traded at $3.52, with a volume of 114,390 shares changing hands.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

IRWD has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. StockNews.com downgraded Ironwood Pharmaceuticals from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 12th. Capital One Financial lowered shares of Ironwood Pharmaceuticals from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and lowered their price objective for the company from $12.00 to $4.00 in a research report on Thursday, August 8th. Craig Hallum reduced their target price on shares of Ironwood Pharmaceuticals from $14.00 to $10.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, August 9th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on shares of Ironwood Pharmaceuticals from $14.00 to $12.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, August 9th. Finally, Leerink Partners began coverage on Ironwood Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Monday, September 9th. They set a “market perform” rating and a $5.00 price objective on the stock. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $10.40.

Ironwood Pharmaceuticals Trading Up 4.3 %

The firm’s fifty day moving average is $4.13 and its 200 day moving average is $5.22.

Ironwood Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:IRWD) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, November 7th. The biotechnology company reported $0.02 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.09 by ($0.07). Ironwood Pharmaceuticals had a negative return on equity of 0.96% and a negative net margin of 0.65%. The business had revenue of $91.60 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $91.22 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.12 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 19.4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts predict that Ironwood Pharmaceuticals, Inc. will post 0.1 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Ironwood Pharmaceuticals

In other news, CFO Sravan Kumar Emany sold 11,001 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $4.08, for a total transaction of $44,884.08. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly 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 ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Corporate insiders own 12.90% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of IRWD. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Ironwood Pharmaceuticals by 21.8% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 19,521,366 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $170,031,000 after buying an additional 3,487,821 shares during the period. Pacer Advisors Inc. lifted its stake in Ironwood Pharmaceuticals by 26.6% in the third quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 11,279,822 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $46,473,000 after acquiring an additional 2,372,183 shares during the period. State Street Corp grew its holdings in Ironwood Pharmaceuticals by 7.3% during the 3rd 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 in the last quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC grew its holdings in Ironwood Pharmaceuticals by 20.7% during the 2nd quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 8,571,898 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $55,889,000 after acquiring an additional 1,472,097 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Armistice Capital LLC increased its position in Ironwood Pharmaceuticals by 44.4% during 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.

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.