Renaissance Technologies LLC Purchases 469,043 Shares of Ironwood Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:IRWD)

Renaissance Technologies LLC raised its holdings in shares of Ironwood Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:IRWD - Free Report) by 5.5% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 9,066,241 shares of the biotechnology company's stock after purchasing an additional 469,043 shares during the period. Renaissance Technologies LLC owned 5.67% of Ironwood Pharmaceuticals worth $40,163,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. FMR LLC boosted its stake in shares of Ironwood Pharmaceuticals by 25.1% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 169,681 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $699,000 after buying an additional 34,089 shares during the last quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets increased its holdings in Ironwood Pharmaceuticals by 89.0% in the 3rd quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 154,660 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $637,000 after buying an additional 72,815 shares during the period. Quantinno Capital Management LP grew its position in Ironwood Pharmaceuticals by 40.0% in the third quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP now owns 19,191 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $79,000 after acquiring an additional 5,482 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp boosted its holdings in shares of Ironwood Pharmaceuticals by 7.3% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 9,919,865 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $40,870,000 after acquiring an additional 677,024 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Wolverine Trading LLC bought a new position in shares of Ironwood Pharmaceuticals during the third quarter valued at $51,000.

Ironwood Pharmaceuticals Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ IRWD traded up $0.03 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $0.75. 2,131,203 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,545,884. Ironwood Pharmaceuticals, Inc. has a 52-week low of $0.59 and a 52-week high of $8.45. The company's 50-day moving average is $1.50 and its 200-day moving average is $3.08. The firm has a market capitalization of $121.96 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -25.12 and a beta of 0.30.

Ironwood Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:IRWD - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, February 27th. The biotechnology company reported $0.02 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.10 by ($0.08). Ironwood Pharmaceuticals had a negative net margin of 0.65% and a negative return on equity of 0.96%. The business had revenue of $90.55 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $93.85 million. As a group, equities analysts predict that Ironwood Pharmaceuticals, Inc. will post 0.1 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages recently commented on IRWD. Citizens Jmp lowered Ironwood Pharmaceuticals from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating in a research report on Monday. Craig Hallum lowered their price target on shares of Ironwood Pharmaceuticals from $10.00 to $8.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company reiterated an "equal weight" rating and issued a $1.00 target price (down from $7.00) on shares of Ironwood Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Tuesday. JMP Securities reduced their price target on Ironwood Pharmaceuticals from $23.00 to $14.00 and set a "market outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, Leerink Partners dropped their target price on Ironwood Pharmaceuticals from $3.00 to $1.00 and set a "market perform" rating on the stock in a report on Monday. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, Ironwood Pharmaceuticals currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $4.78.

Insider Activity at Ironwood Pharmaceuticals

In related news, CMO Michael Shetzline sold 41,269 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $1.76, for a total value of $72,633.44. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief marketing officer now owns 554,007 shares in the company, valued at $975,052.32. This represents a 6.93 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Thomas A. Mccourt sold 139,064 shares of Ironwood Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction on Monday, February 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $1.76, for a total value of $244,752.64. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 1,160,634 shares in the company, valued at $2,042,715.84. The trade was a 10.70 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 192,381 shares of company stock worth $338,591. Corporate insiders own 12.90% of the company's stock.

Ironwood Pharmaceuticals Company Profile

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.