Ironwood Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:IRWD) Short Interest Update

Key Points

• The short interest in Ironwood surged 30.7% in March to 17,904,692 shares (about 12.6% of the stock) with a short-interest ratio of 4.7 days.
• Director Alexander J. Denner sold 6,730,800 shares on March 17 at an average of $3.05 (≈$20.53M), trimming his position by ~42.3%; insiders now hold roughly 12.7% of the company.
• Shares traded up about 8.2% to $4.37 (market cap ≈ $712.6M) and the stock carries a consensus "Hold" rating with an average target price of $6.23.

Ironwood Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:IRWD - Get Free Report) was the recipient of a large increase in short interest during the month of March. As of March 31st, there was short interest totaling 17,904,692 shares, an increase of 30.7% from the March 15th total of 13,703,587 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 3,832,392 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 4.7 days. Approximately 12.6% of the shares of the stock are short sold.

Ironwood Pharmaceuticals Stock Up 8.2%

Shares of NASDAQ:IRWD traded up $0.33 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $4.37. The company's stock had a trading volume of 2,725,261 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,469,342. The firm has a market capitalization of $712.57 million, a PE ratio of 33.62 and a beta of 0.17. Ironwood Pharmaceuticals has a twelve month low of $0.53 and a twelve month high of $5.78. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $3.76 and a 200 day moving average of $3.35.

Ironwood Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:IRWD - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 25th. The biotechnology company reported ($0.01) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.02 by ($0.03). The firm had revenue of $47.71 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $86.10 million. Ironwood Pharmaceuticals had a negative return on equity of 13.72% and a net margin of 8.11%. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Ironwood Pharmaceuticals will post 0.1 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Ironwood Pharmaceuticals

In related news, Director Alexander J. Denner sold 6,730,800 shares of Ironwood Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $3.05, for a total transaction of $20,528,940.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 9,188,635 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $28,025,336.75. The trade was a 42.28% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. 12.70% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Ironwood Pharmaceuticals

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of IRWD. Bank of America Corp DE increased its position in shares of Ironwood Pharmaceuticals by 248.3% during the third quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 11,695,544 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $15,321,000 after acquiring an additional 8,337,672 shares during the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC increased its position in shares of Ironwood Pharmaceuticals by 186.6% during the first quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 6,359,682 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $9,349,000 after acquiring an additional 4,140,439 shares during the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC grew its holdings 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 valued at $4,422,000 after purchasing an additional 3,641,762 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its holdings 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 valued at $16,769,000 after purchasing an additional 58,603 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Marshall Wace LLP grew its holdings 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 valued at $14,909,000 after purchasing an additional 1,279,863 shares in the last quarter.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

IRWD has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Citigroup raised shares of Ironwood Pharmaceuticals from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating in a research note on Monday, January 5th. Zacks Research downgraded shares of Ironwood Pharmaceuticals from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 25th. Weiss Ratings reissued a "sell (d)" rating on shares of Ironwood Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Jefferies Financial Group reissued a "hold" rating and issued a $3.70 price objective on shares of Ironwood Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Thursday, February 26th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on shares of Ironwood Pharmaceuticals from $3.00 to $5.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Monday, January 5th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have issued a Buy rating, three have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $6.23.

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.

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