Short Interest in Ironwood Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:IRWD) Decreases By 21.8%

Ironwood Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:IRWD - Get Free Report) was the target of a large decline in short interest during the month of November. As of November 15th, there was short interest totalling 8,570,000 shares, a decline of 21.8% from the October 31st total of 10,960,000 shares. Approximately 5.5% of the shares of the stock are short sold. Based on an average daily volume of 1,630,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 5.3 days.

Ironwood Pharmaceuticals Stock Performance

Shares of Ironwood Pharmaceuticals stock traded down $0.15 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $3.52. 858,094 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,870,544. Ironwood Pharmaceuticals has a 1 year low of $3.26 and a 1 year high of $15.70. The stock's fifty day moving average is $4.12 and its 200 day moving average is $5.20. The firm has a market cap of $563.30 million, a PE ratio of -117.33 and a beta of 0.47.

Ironwood Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:IRWD - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, November 7th. The biotechnology company reported $0.02 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.09 by ($0.07). The company had revenue of $91.60 million for 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 firm's revenue was down 19.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.12 EPS. Research analysts expect that Ironwood Pharmaceuticals will post 0.1 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Ironwood Pharmaceuticals

In other news, CFO Sravan Kumar Emany sold 11,001 shares of Ironwood Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $4.08, for a total transaction of $44,884.08. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 309,572 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $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 can be accessed through this link. Insiders own 12.90% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Ironwood Pharmaceuticals

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. KBC Group NV grew its stake in shares of Ironwood Pharmaceuticals by 59.3% during the third quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 8,593 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $35,000 after purchasing an additional 3,198 shares in the last quarter. CWM LLC grew its stake in shares of Ironwood Pharmaceuticals by 55.1% during the second quarter. CWM LLC now owns 6,600 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $43,000 after purchasing an additional 2,345 shares in the last quarter. Wolverine Trading LLC acquired a new position in shares of Ironwood Pharmaceuticals during the third quarter worth $51,000. Diversified Trust Co acquired a new position in shares of Ironwood Pharmaceuticals during the third quarter worth $52,000. Finally, Legacy Capital Group California Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Ironwood Pharmaceuticals during the third quarter worth $59,000.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have recently commented on the stock. Craig Hallum reduced their price target on shares of Ironwood Pharmaceuticals from $14.00 to $10.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, August 9th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on shares of Ironwood Pharmaceuticals from $14.00 to $12.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, August 9th. Capital One Financial lowered Ironwood Pharmaceuticals from an "overweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and cut their target price for the company from $12.00 to $4.00 in a research report on Thursday, August 8th. StockNews.com lowered Ironwood Pharmaceuticals from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 12th. Finally, Leerink Partnrs raised Ironwood Pharmaceuticals to a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, September 9th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Ironwood Pharmaceuticals currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $10.40.

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.