Voleon Capital Management LP Makes New Investment in Ironwood Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:IRWD)

Voleon Capital Management LP acquired a new stake in shares of Ironwood Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:IRWD) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm acquired 82,728 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock, valued at approximately $366,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of IRWD. Renaissance Technologies LLC raised its position in Ironwood Pharmaceuticals by 5.5% during the fourth quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 9,066,241 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $40,163,000 after acquiring an additional 469,043 shares in the last quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. grew its stake in shares of Ironwood Pharmaceuticals by 4.0% during the 4th quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 11,730,771 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $51,967,000 after purchasing an additional 450,949 shares during the period. Federated Hermes Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Ironwood Pharmaceuticals during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $1,641,000. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Ironwood Pharmaceuticals by 2,625.1% in the 4th quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC now owns 331,700 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $1,469,000 after purchasing an additional 319,528 shares during the period. Finally, Walleye Capital LLC boosted its holdings in Ironwood Pharmaceuticals by 107.0% during the fourth quarter. Walleye Capital LLC now owns 580,097 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $2,570,000 after buying an additional 299,798 shares in the last quarter.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have weighed in on IRWD shares. Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a “hold” rating and issued a $0.70 price objective (down previously from $8.00) on shares of Ironwood Pharmaceuticals in a report on Tuesday, April 15th. Wells Fargo & Company reiterated an “equal weight” rating and set a $1.00 price target (down previously from $7.00) on shares of Ironwood Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Tuesday, April 15th. Citizens Jmp cut Ironwood Pharmaceuticals from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research report on Monday, April 14th. StockNews.com lowered Ironwood Pharmaceuticals from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 15th. Finally, Leerink Partners cut their price target on shares of Ironwood Pharmaceuticals from $3.00 to $1.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 14th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $4.78.

Ironwood Pharmaceuticals Stock Down 2.2 %

Ironwood Pharmaceuticals stock opened at $0.91 on Friday. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $1.25 and a 200-day simple moving average of $2.81. The firm has a market capitalization of $147.55 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -30.40 and a beta of 0.30. Ironwood Pharmaceuticals, Inc. has a 52-week low of $0.59 and a 52-week high of $8.45.

Ironwood Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:IRWD) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 27th. The biotechnology company reported $0.02 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.10 by ($0.08). Ironwood Pharmaceuticals had a negative net margin of 0.65% and a negative return on equity of 0.96%. The business had revenue of $90.55 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $93.85 million. On average, research analysts anticipate that Ironwood Pharmaceuticals, Inc. will post 0.1 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Ironwood Pharmaceuticals

In related news, CMO Michael Shetzline sold 41,269 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $1.76, for a total transaction of $72,633.44. Following the completion of the sale, the chief marketing officer now directly owns 554,007 shares in the company, valued at approximately $975,052.32. This trade represents a 6.93 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Thomas A. Mccourt sold 139,064 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $1.76, for a total transaction of $244,752.64. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 1,160,634 shares in the company, valued at $2,042,715.84. The trade was a 10.70 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 192,381 shares of company stock valued at $338,591. 12.90% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.