Ironwood Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:IRWD) Shares Gap Up – Still a Buy?

Shares of Ironwood Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:IRWD) 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 traded.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts recently weighed in on IRWD shares. StockNews.com downgraded Ironwood Pharmaceuticals from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 12th. Leerink Partnrs raised shares of Ironwood Pharmaceuticals to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, September 9th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on Ironwood Pharmaceuticals from $14.00 to $12.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, August 9th. Craig Hallum reduced their price objective on Ironwood Pharmaceuticals from $14.00 to $10.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, August 9th. Finally, Capital One Financial lowered Ironwood Pharmaceuticals from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and lowered their target price for the company from $12.00 to $4.00 in a report on Thursday, August 8th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $10.40.

Ironwood Pharmaceuticals Trading Up 4.3 %

The company has a 50-day moving average of $4.16 and a 200-day moving average of $5.24. The firm has a market capitalization of $587.31 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -117.33 and a beta of 0.47.

Ironwood Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:IRWD) last posted its quarterly earnings results 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). 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 the consensus estimate of $91.22 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.12 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 19.4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts forecast that Ironwood Pharmaceuticals, Inc. will post 0.1 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Ironwood Pharmaceuticals

In related news, CFO Sravan Kumar Emany sold 11,001 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $4.08, for a total value of $44,884.08. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 309,572 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,263,053.76. This trade represents a 3.43 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Insiders own 12.90% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. boosted its position in shares of Ironwood Pharmaceuticals by 1,293.6% during the third quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. now owns 380,960 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $1,570,000 after buying an additional 353,624 shares during the period. Pacer Advisors Inc. raised its stake in shares of Ironwood Pharmaceuticals by 26.6% during the third quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 11,279,822 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $46,473,000 after purchasing an additional 2,372,183 shares in the last quarter. Hodges Capital Management Inc. grew its position in Ironwood Pharmaceuticals by 20.6% in the 2nd quarter. Hodges Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,041,000 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $6,787,000 after buying an additional 177,500 shares in the last quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC lifted its position in Ironwood Pharmaceuticals by 20.7% in the second quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 8,571,898 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $55,889,000 after purchasing an additional 1,472,097 shares during the period. Finally, Creative Planning boosted its stake in Ironwood Pharmaceuticals by 12.7% during the 3rd quarter. Creative Planning now owns 42,151 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $174,000 after purchasing an additional 4,749 shares in the last quarter.

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.