Ironwood Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:IRWD) Trading Down 5.8% - Time to Sell?

Key Points

• Quarterly miss: Ironwood reported EPS of -$0.01 (vs. $0.02 expected) and revenue of $47.71M (vs. $86.10M expected), a material shortfall versus analyst estimates.
• Shares fell 5.8% to $3.675 on Thursday with volume around 275,817 shares — roughly a 94% drop from average daily volume — and the stock trades near a $575M market cap with a 50‑day/200‑day moving average of $4.01/$3.19.
• Insider selling and mixed analyst views: Director Alexander J. Denner sold 6,730,800 shares (cutting his stake ~42%), while analysts remain mixed with a consensus "Hold" rating and a $4.93 average price target.

Ironwood Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:IRWD - Get Free Report) was down 5.8% during mid-day trading on Thursday . The stock traded as low as $3.61 and last traded at $3.6750. Approximately 275,817 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 94% from the average daily volume of 4,598,499 shares. The stock had previously closed at $3.90.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

IRWD has been the subject of a number of research reports. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective 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. Jefferies Financial Group reissued a "hold" rating and issued a $3.70 price objective on shares of Ironwood Pharmaceuticals in a report on Thursday, February 26th. Weiss Ratings reissued a "sell (d)" rating on shares of Ironwood Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Citizens Jmp lifted their price target on Ironwood Pharmaceuticals from $8.00 to $10.00 and gave the company a "market outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, February 26th. Finally, Citigroup raised Ironwood Pharmaceuticals from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating in a research note on Monday, January 5th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have issued a Buy rating, four have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Ironwood Pharmaceuticals presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $4.93.

Ironwood Pharmaceuticals Price Performance

The stock has a market capitalization of $574.78 million, a P/E ratio of 27.19 and a beta of 0.24. The stock's fifty day moving average is $4.01 and its two-hundred day moving average is $3.19.

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

Insider Buying and Selling at Ironwood Pharmaceuticals

In related news, Director Alexander J. Denner sold 6,730,800 shares of the stock in a transaction on 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 completion of the transaction, the director owned 9,188,635 shares in the company, valued at $28,025,336.75. This trade represents a 42.28% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 12.70% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Ironwood Pharmaceuticals

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Ironwood Pharmaceuticals by 21.4% in the third quarter. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC now owns 19,295 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $25,000 after buying an additional 3,406 shares during the period. LSV Asset Management acquired a new stake in shares of Ironwood Pharmaceuticals during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Captrust Financial Advisors purchased a new stake in shares of Ironwood Pharmaceuticals in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Jump Financial LLC acquired a new position in Ironwood Pharmaceuticals in the 4th quarter worth approximately $34,000. Finally, DGS Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in Ironwood Pharmaceuticals in the 4th quarter worth approximately $35,000.

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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