Ironwood Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:IRWD) Stock Passes Above 200 Day Moving Average - Should You Sell?

Key Points

• Ironwood's stock passed above its 200-day moving average, trading as high as $4.88 and last at $4.83 on volume of about 3.76 million shares (200‑day MA $3.61).
• Analysts are mixed: the consensus rating is "Hold" with an average target of $6.23, while individual firms range from Strong Buy to Sell (Citizens Jmp raised its target to $10; Weiss reaffirmed a sell).
• Fundamentals remain concerning—Ironwood missed quarterly EPS and revenue estimates (EPS -$0.01 vs $0.02 expected; revenue $47.7M vs $86.1M)—and a director sold 6.73 million shares, cutting their stake by ~42%.

Ironwood Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:IRWD - Get Free Report)'s share price passed above its 200-day moving average during trading on Wednesday . The stock has a 200-day moving average of $3.61 and traded as high as $4.88. Ironwood Pharmaceuticals shares last traded at $4.83, with a volume of 3,761,616 shares.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have commented on IRWD. Citizens Jmp boosted their target price on Ironwood Pharmaceuticals from $8.00 to $10.00 and gave the stock a "market outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, February 26th. Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a "hold" rating and set a $3.70 price target on shares of Ironwood Pharmaceuticals in a report on Thursday, February 26th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "sell (d+)" rating on shares of Ironwood Pharmaceuticals in a report on Monday, April 27th. Wall Street Zen downgraded Ironwood Pharmaceuticals from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Saturday, March 7th. Finally, Zacks Research downgraded Ironwood Pharmaceuticals from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Wednesday, February 25th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have assigned a Buy rating, three have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Ironwood Pharmaceuticals currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $6.23.

Ironwood Pharmaceuticals Stock Up 3.4%

The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $3.69 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $3.61. The company has a market cap of $787.58 million, a P/E ratio of 37.15 and a beta of 0.29.

Ironwood Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:IRWD - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, February 25th. The biotechnology company reported ($0.01) earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.02 by ($0.03). Ironwood Pharmaceuticals had a net margin of 8.11% and a negative return on equity of 13.72%. The firm had revenue of $47.71 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $86.10 million. On average, equities analysts predict that Ironwood Pharmaceuticals, Inc. will post 0.88 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Ironwood Pharmaceuticals news, Director Alexander J. Denner sold 6,730,800 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $3.05, for a total value of $20,528,940.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 9,188,635 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $28,025,336.75. This represents a 42.28% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 12.70% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Ironwood Pharmaceuticals

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Bank of America Corp DE increased its position in Ironwood Pharmaceuticals by 248.3% in the third quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 11,695,544 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $15,321,000 after buying an additional 8,337,672 shares in the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC increased its position in Ironwood Pharmaceuticals by 186.6% in the first quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 6,359,682 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $9,349,000 after buying an additional 4,140,439 shares in the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC increased its position in 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 worth $4,422,000 after buying an additional 3,641,762 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its position in 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 worth $16,769,000 after buying an additional 58,603 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Marshall Wace LLP increased its position in Ironwood Pharmaceuticals by 40.7% in the fourth quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 4,424,002 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $14,909,000 after buying an additional 1,279,863 shares in the last quarter.

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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