Ironwood Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:IRWD) Shares Climb 7.4% – Here’s Why

Shares of Ironwood Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:IRWD) traded up 7.4% during trading on Thursday. The stock traded as high as $3.84 and last traded at $3.8650. Approximately 569,492 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 81% from the average daily volume of 2,953,163 shares. The stock had previously closed at $3.60.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have weighed in on IRWD. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of Ironwood Pharmaceuticals to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, September 25th. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Ironwood Pharmaceuticals from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 8th. Wall Street Zen cut Ironwood Pharmaceuticals from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, September 5th. Finally, Zacks Research lowered Ironwood Pharmaceuticals from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 30th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have issued a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $6.23.

Ironwood Pharmaceuticals Stock Performance

The firm has a market capitalization of $578.34 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 4.55 and a beta of 0.21. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $4.10 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $3.97.

Ironwood Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:IRWD) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 6th. The biotechnology company reported $0.31 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.32 by ($0.01). The company had revenue of $113.04 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $114.84 million. Ironwood Pharmaceuticals had a net margin of 33.36% and a negative return on equity of 58.38%. On average, equities analysts expect that Ironwood Pharmaceuticals, Inc. will post 1.10 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Trading of Ironwood Pharmaceuticals

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership raised its position in Ironwood Pharmaceuticals by 724.5% in the first quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 3,397,242 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $11,924,000 after purchasing an additional 2,985,181 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its stake in Ironwood Pharmaceuticals by 529.3% during the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 2,082,055 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $7,307,000 after buying an additional 1,751,219 shares during the period. Pacer Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in Ironwood Pharmaceuticals during the 1st quarter worth approximately $3,982,000. Inspire Investing LLC purchased a new position in Ironwood Pharmaceuticals in the first quarter valued at $1,790,000. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp purchased a new position in shares of Ironwood Pharmaceuticals in the 2nd quarter valued at about $2,142,000.

About Ironwood Pharmaceuticals

Ironwood Pharmaceuticals, Inc is a gastrointestinal-focused biopharmaceutical company that discovers, develops, and commercializes medicines for gastrointestinal diseases. The company concentrates on conditions affecting the digestive system, including disorders with substantial unmet medical needs.

Ironwood’s principal commercial product is LINZESS (linaclotide), a prescription treatment for adults with irritable bowel syndrome with constipation and chronic idiopathic constipation. In the United States, LINZESS is marketed through a collaboration with AbbVie, while it is marketed in many international markets under the name CONSTELLA through a collaboration with the healthcare business of AstraZeneca and other regional partners.

Founded in 1998 and headquartered in Boston, Massachusetts, Ironwood has expanded its development activities through internal research, partnerships, and acquisitions.