Ironwood Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:IRWD) Shares Pass Above 200 Day Moving Average – Here’s Why

Shares of Ironwood Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:IRWD) passed above its 200-day moving average during trading on Wednesday . The stock has a 200-day moving average of $3.84 and traded as high as $4.03. Ironwood Pharmaceuticals shares last traded at $3.71, with a volume of 2,944,044 shares.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

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

Ironwood Pharmaceuticals Stock Down 4.9%

The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $3.78 and a 200-day simple moving average of $3.84. The firm has a market cap of $604.95 million, a P/E ratio of 6.18 and a beta of 0.29.

Ironwood Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:IRWD) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 7th. The biotechnology company reported $0.24 earnings per share (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 company had revenue of $106.51 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $92.11 million. As a group, research analysts forecast that Ironwood Pharmaceuticals, Inc. will post 0.88 EPS for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Ironwood Pharmaceuticals

In other Ironwood Pharmaceuticals news, Director Alexander J. Denner sold 6,730,800 shares of the business’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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $28,025,336.75. The trade was a 42.28% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 9.30% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Ironwood Pharmaceuticals

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of IRWD. AQR Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in Ironwood Pharmaceuticals by 535.8% during the first quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 2,523,875 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $3,710,000 after purchasing an additional 2,126,889 shares during the period. Millennium Management LLC grew its holdings in Ironwood Pharmaceuticals by 186.6% during the first quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 6,359,682 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $9,349,000 after purchasing an additional 4,140,439 shares during the period. Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd bought a new position in shares of Ironwood Pharmaceuticals in the first quarter worth about $57,000. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Ironwood Pharmaceuticals by 72.1% in the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 1,575,416 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $2,316,000 after acquiring an additional 660,144 shares during the period. Finally, Jane Street Group LLC boosted its stake in shares of Ironwood Pharmaceuticals by 740.5% in the first quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 3,510,117 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $5,160,000 after acquiring an additional 3,092,475 shares during the period.

About Ironwood Pharmaceuticals

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.