Ironwood Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:IRWD) Shares Down 12.3% After Earnings Miss

Ironwood Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:IRWD)’s share price fell 12.3% during mid-day trading on Thursday following a dissappointing earnings announcement. The stock traded as low as $4.24 and last traded at $4.2360. 712,320 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 82% from the average session volume of 3,866,305 shares. The stock had previously closed at $4.83.

The biotechnology company reported $0.24 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.25 by ($0.01). Ironwood Pharmaceuticals had a net margin of 28.26% and a negative return on equity of 37.48%. The company had revenue of $106.51 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $92.11 million.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on IRWD. Citizens Jmp raised their price objective on Ironwood Pharmaceuticals from $8.00 to $10.00 and gave the company a “market outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 26th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “sell (d+)” rating on shares of Ironwood Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Monday, April 27th. Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a “hold” rating and issued a $3.70 price target on shares of Ironwood Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Thursday, February 26th. Zacks Research cut Ironwood Pharmaceuticals from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 25th. Finally, Wall Street Zen cut Ironwood Pharmaceuticals from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have given a Buy rating, three have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $6.23.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Ironwood Pharmaceuticals news, Director Alexander J. Denner sold 6,730,800 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $3.05, for a total value of $20,528,940.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 9,188,635 shares in the company, valued at approximately $28,025,336.75. This trade represents a 42.28% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Company insiders own 12.70% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Ironwood Pharmaceuticals

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Bank of America Corp DE raised its stake in shares of Ironwood Pharmaceuticals by 248.3% in the third quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 11,695,544 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $15,321,000 after purchasing an additional 8,337,672 shares during the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Ironwood Pharmaceuticals by 186.6% in the first quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 6,359,682 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $9,349,000 after purchasing an additional 4,140,439 shares during the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Ironwood Pharmaceuticals by 144.3% in the second quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 6,165,637 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $4,422,000 after purchasing an additional 3,641,762 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Ironwood Pharmaceuticals by 1.2% in the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 4,975,939 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $16,769,000 after purchasing an additional 58,603 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Marshall Wace LLP raised its stake in shares of Ironwood Pharmaceuticals by 40.7% in the fourth quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 4,424,002 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $14,909,000 after purchasing an additional 1,279,863 shares during the last quarter.

Ironwood Pharmaceuticals Stock Up 1.2%

The stock has a market capitalization of $688.11 million, a PE ratio of 7.03 and a beta of 0.29. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $3.70 and a 200-day moving average price of $3.63.

Ironwood Pharmaceuticals Company Profile

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.