Ironwood Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:IRWD) Shares Gap Up - What's Next?

Key Points

• Shares gapped up: Ironwood opened at $3.96 (prior close $3.65) and last traded near $4.12, a roughly 10.8% intraday increase.
• Earnings miss: The company reported Q EPS of ($0.01) vs. $0.02 expected and revenue of $47.71M vs. $86.10M estimated, a notable top- and bottom-line shortfall.
• Analyst and ownership moves: Analysts are mixed with a consensus "Hold" and $6.23 average target, while Director Alexander Denner sold 6.73M shares (cutting his stake ~42%) even as institutional investors like AQR, Millennium and Jane Street added positions.

Ironwood Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:IRWD - Get Free Report) gapped up prior to trading on Tuesday . The stock had previously closed at $3.65, but opened at $3.96. Ironwood Pharmaceuticals shares last traded at $4.1150, with a volume of 1,385,899 shares.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have issued reports on the stock. Zacks Research lowered shares of Ironwood Pharmaceuticals from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Wednesday, February 25th. Citigroup raised shares of Ironwood Pharmaceuticals from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating in a report on Monday, January 5th. Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a "hold" rating and issued a $3.70 price target on shares of Ironwood Pharmaceuticals in a report on Thursday, February 26th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on shares of Ironwood Pharmaceuticals from $3.00 to $5.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Monday, January 5th. Finally, Craig Hallum raised shares of Ironwood Pharmaceuticals from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Monday, January 5th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have assigned a Buy rating, three have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $6.23.

Ironwood Pharmaceuticals Stock Up 10.8%

The company's 50 day moving average price is $3.77 and its 200 day moving average price is $3.33. The firm has a market capitalization of $659.57 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.27 and a beta of 0.17.

Ironwood Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:IRWD - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 25th. The biotechnology company reported ($0.01) EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.02 by ($0.03). Ironwood Pharmaceuticals had a negative return on equity of 13.72% and a net margin of 8.11%.The company had revenue of $47.71 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $86.10 million. As a group, analysts expect that Ironwood Pharmaceuticals, Inc. will post 0.1 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Ironwood Pharmaceuticals

In related news, Director Alexander J. Denner sold 6,730,800 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on 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 in the company, valued at $28,025,336.75. The trade was a 42.28% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 12.70% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in IRWD. AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its position in Ironwood Pharmaceuticals by 535.8% during the first quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 2,523,875 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $3,710,000 after purchasing an additional 2,126,889 shares during the period. Millennium Management LLC lifted its position in 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 purchasing an additional 4,140,439 shares during the period. Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd acquired a new position in Ironwood Pharmaceuticals during the first quarter valued at $57,000. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. lifted its position in Ironwood Pharmaceuticals by 72.1% during the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 1,575,416 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $2,316,000 after purchasing an additional 660,144 shares during the period. Finally, Jane Street Group LLC lifted its position in Ironwood Pharmaceuticals by 740.5% during the first quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 3,510,117 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $5,160,000 after purchasing an additional 3,092,475 shares during the period.

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.

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