Ironwood Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:IRWD) Trading Up 4.6% - Here's What Happened

Ironwood Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:IRWD - Get Free Report)'s stock price rose 4.6% during mid-day trading on Tuesday . The stock traded as high as $3.64 and last traded at $3.61. Approximately 283,088 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 90% from the average daily volume of 2,823,208 shares. The stock had previously closed at $3.45.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have weighed in on IRWD. Leerink Partnrs upgraded Ironwood Pharmaceuticals to a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, September 9th. Leerink Partners assumed coverage on Ironwood Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Monday, September 9th. They issued a "market perform" rating and a $5.00 target price for the company. Finally, StockNews.com cut shares of Ironwood Pharmaceuticals from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 12th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $10.40.

Ironwood Pharmaceuticals Stock Up 2.3 %

The company has a fifty day moving average price of $4.00 and a 200 day moving average price of $4.97. The stock has a market cap of $564.90 million, a PE ratio of -115.00 and a beta of 0.41.

Ironwood Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:IRWD - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, November 7th. The biotechnology company reported $0.02 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.09 by ($0.07). The company had revenue of $91.60 million during 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%. Ironwood Pharmaceuticals's revenue for the quarter was down 19.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.12 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts predict that Ironwood Pharmaceuticals, Inc. will post 0.08 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Ironwood Pharmaceuticals

In other Ironwood Pharmaceuticals news, CFO Sravan Kumar Emany sold 11,001 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $4.08, for a total transaction of $44,884.08. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 309,572 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,263,053.76. This represents a 3.43 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 12.90% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Ironwood Pharmaceuticals

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in IRWD. CWM LLC increased its position in Ironwood Pharmaceuticals by 55.1% during the 2nd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 6,600 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $43,000 after purchasing an additional 2,345 shares during the period. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System increased its position in shares of Ironwood Pharmaceuticals by 3.5% during the second quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System now owns 70,400 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $459,000 after buying an additional 2,400 shares during the period. SummerHaven Investment Management LLC raised its stake in Ironwood Pharmaceuticals by 3.6% in the second quarter. SummerHaven Investment Management LLC now owns 72,030 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $470,000 after buying an additional 2,491 shares in the last quarter. Rhumbline Advisers raised its stake in Ironwood Pharmaceuticals by 0.7% in the second quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 365,701 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $2,384,000 after buying an additional 2,577 shares in the last quarter. Finally, KBC Group NV lifted its holdings in Ironwood Pharmaceuticals by 59.3% in the third quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 8,593 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $35,000 after buying an additional 3,198 shares during the period.

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.