Ironwood Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:IRWD) Shares Down 5.7% – Here’s What Happened

Shares of Ironwood Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:IRWD) fell 5.7% on Tuesday . The company traded as low as $4.57 and last traded at $4.5650. 376,199 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 94% from the average session volume of 6,255,014 shares. The stock had previously closed at $4.84.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

IRWD has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Craig Hallum upgraded shares of Ironwood Pharmaceuticals from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, January 5th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “sell (d)” rating on shares of Ironwood Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Zacks Research upgraded Ironwood Pharmaceuticals from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, January 1st. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on Ironwood Pharmaceuticals from $3.00 to $5.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, January 5th. Finally, Citigroup raised Ironwood Pharmaceuticals from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, January 5th. Two equities research analysts have 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. Based on data from MarketBeat, Ironwood Pharmaceuticals has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $3.68.

Ironwood Pharmaceuticals Stock Performance

The company has a market capitalization of $752.40 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.97 and a beta of 0.17. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $4.09 and its 200-day moving average price is $2.52.

Ironwood Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:IRWD) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, November 10th. The biotechnology company reported $0.24 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.09 by $0.15. Ironwood Pharmaceuticals had a net margin of 8.70% and a negative return on equity of 15.17%. The firm had revenue of $122.06 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $74.22 million. Analysts anticipate that Ironwood Pharmaceuticals, Inc. will post 0.1 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Ironwood Pharmaceuticals

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. ProShare Advisors LLC boosted its position in Ironwood Pharmaceuticals by 9.6% during the fourth quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 36,315 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $122,000 after acquiring an additional 3,170 shares during the last quarter. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC lifted its stake in shares of Ironwood Pharmaceuticals by 21.4% during the 3rd quarter. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC now owns 19,295 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 3,406 shares during the period. Merit Financial Group LLC lifted its stake in shares of Ironwood Pharmaceuticals by 17.4% during the 3rd quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC now owns 48,879 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $64,000 after purchasing an additional 7,232 shares during the period. Rhumbline Advisers grew its position in shares of Ironwood Pharmaceuticals by 3.5% in the third quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 223,229 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $292,000 after purchasing an additional 7,611 shares during the period. Finally, LSV Asset Management acquired a new position in Ironwood Pharmaceuticals in the fourth quarter valued at $30,000.

About Ironwood Pharmaceuticals

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.