Ironwood Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:IRWD) Stock Price Up 4.6% – Time to Buy?

Ironwood Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:IRWD)’s share price shot up 4.6% during trading on Tuesday . The stock traded as high as $3.64 and last traded at $3.61. 283,088 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 90% from the average session volume of 2,823,208 shares. The stock had previously closed at $3.45.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. StockNews.com lowered Ironwood Pharmaceuticals from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 12th. Leerink Partners began coverage on shares of Ironwood Pharmaceuticals in a report on Monday, September 9th. They set a “market perform” rating and a $5.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Leerink Partnrs upgraded shares of Ironwood Pharmaceuticals to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, September 9th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $10.40.

Ironwood Pharmaceuticals Trading Up 12.1 %

The company has a market cap of $620.91 million, a P/E ratio of -129.33 and a beta of 0.41. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $3.98 and its 200-day moving average is $4.94.

Ironwood Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:IRWD) last released 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). The firm had revenue of $91.60 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $91.22 million. Ironwood Pharmaceuticals had a negative return on equity of 0.96% and a negative net margin of 0.65%. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 19.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.12 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Ironwood Pharmaceuticals, Inc. will post 0.08 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other news, CFO Sravan Kumar Emany sold 11,001 shares of Ironwood Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 18th. The stock was 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 $1,263,053.76. The trade was a 3.43 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Insiders own 12.90% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of IRWD. CWM LLC lifted its stake in shares of Ironwood Pharmaceuticals by 55.1% in the 2nd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 6,600 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $43,000 after purchasing an additional 2,345 shares during the last quarter. KBC Group NV lifted its position in Ironwood Pharmaceuticals by 59.3% in the third quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 8,593 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $35,000 after buying an additional 3,198 shares during the last quarter. First Dallas Securities Inc. purchased a new position in Ironwood Pharmaceuticals during the second quarter worth $73,000. Diversified Trust Co purchased a new position in Ironwood Pharmaceuticals during the third quarter worth $52,000. Finally, Wolverine Trading LLC bought a new position in Ironwood Pharmaceuticals during the third quarter valued at $51,000.

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.