Ironwood Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:IRWD) Shares Gap Up After Earnings Beat

Key Points

• Ironwood beat quarterly expectations, reporting EPS of $0.36 versus the $0.32 consensus and revenue of $133.04 million versus estimates of $119.99 million.
• Shares jumped after the results, opening at $4.30 after a prior close of $3.77 and later trading near $4.25; the article reports an 11.8% gain.
• Analysts maintain a Moderate Buy consensus rating, with a consensus price target of $6.23.

Ironwood Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:IRWD - Get Free Report)'s stock price gapped up prior to trading on Thursday following a stronger than expected earnings report. The stock had previously closed at $3.77, but opened at $4.30. Ironwood Pharmaceuticals shares last traded at $4.2460, with a volume of 944,466 shares changing hands.

The biotechnology company reported $0.36 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.32 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $133.04 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $119.99 million. Ironwood Pharmaceuticals had a net margin of 33.36% and a negative return on equity of 58.38%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have issued reports on IRWD shares. Weiss Ratings upgraded Ironwood Pharmaceuticals from a "hold (c)" rating to a "hold (c+)" rating in a research note on Thursday, October 8th. Zacks Research lowered shares of Ironwood Pharmaceuticals from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 30th. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of Ironwood Pharmaceuticals to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, September 25th. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Ironwood Pharmaceuticals from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Saturday, September 5th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have issued a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $6.23.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Ironwood Pharmaceuticals

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of IRWD. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its holdings in shares of Ironwood Pharmaceuticals by 529.3% during the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 2,082,055 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $7,307,000 after buying an additional 1,751,219 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp purchased a new stake in Ironwood Pharmaceuticals during the 2nd quarter valued at about $2,142,000. Pacer Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Ironwood Pharmaceuticals in the first quarter valued at about $3,982,000. CWA Asset Management Group LLC increased its holdings in shares of Ironwood Pharmaceuticals by 71.7% in the third quarter. CWA Asset Management Group LLC now owns 498,643 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $1,980,000 after purchasing an additional 208,277 shares during the period. Finally, Globeflex Capital L P purchased a new position in shares of Ironwood Pharmaceuticals in the second quarter worth about $1,094,000.

Ironwood Pharmaceuticals Stock Up 11.8%

The stock has a market capitalization of $696.49 million, a PE ratio of 5.49 and a beta of 0.25. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $3.92 and a 200-day moving average price of $3.97.

About Ironwood Pharmaceuticals

Ironwood Pharmaceuticals, Inc is a gastrointestinal-focused biopharmaceutical company headquartered in Boston, Massachusetts. The company discovers, develops, and commercializes medicines intended to treat disorders affecting the gastrointestinal tract, with an emphasis on conditions involving gut motility and visceral sensitivity.

Ironwood's principal commercial product is Linzess (linaclotide), marketed in the United States in collaboration with AbbVie. Linzess is approved for adults with irritable bowel syndrome with constipation and chronic idiopathic constipation.

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