Ironwood Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:IRWD) Shares Pass Above 200-Day Moving Average - Here's Why

Key Points

• Ironwood Pharmaceuticals shares moved above their 200-day moving average, reaching $4.18 before closing at $4.06 on trading volume of approximately 1.12 million shares.
• Analyst sentiment remains a Moderate Buy, with an average price target of $6.23, although several firms recently downgraded the stock from stronger ratings.
• The company slightly missed quarterly expectations, reporting $0.31 in EPS versus a $0.32 consensus and revenue of $113.04 million versus $114.84 million expected; an insider also sold 127,890 shares.

Ironwood Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:IRWD - Get Free Report) shares passed above its 200-day moving average during trading on Tuesday . The stock has a 200-day moving average of $3.88 and traded as high as $4.18. Ironwood Pharmaceuticals shares last traded at $4.06, with a volume of 1,124,162 shares changing hands.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have recently weighed in on IRWD shares. Zacks Research downgraded shares of Ironwood Pharmaceuticals from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 30th. Weiss Ratings cut Ironwood Pharmaceuticals from a "hold (c+)" rating to a "hold (c)" rating in a research report on Friday, September 4th. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded Ironwood Pharmaceuticals from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Saturday, September 5th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have assigned a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Ironwood Pharmaceuticals has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $6.23.

Ironwood Pharmaceuticals Price Performance

The stock's 50-day moving average is $4.15 and its 200 day moving average is $3.88. The stock has a market cap of $670.87 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 5.27 and a beta of 0.20.

Ironwood Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:IRWD - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 6th. The biotechnology company reported $0.31 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.32 by ($0.01). The business had revenue of $113.04 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $114.84 million. Ironwood Pharmaceuticals had a negative return on equity of 58.38% and a net margin of 33.36%. Analysts anticipate that Ironwood Pharmaceuticals, Inc. will post 1.1 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Ironwood Pharmaceuticals news, insider Ronald Silver sold 127,890 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $4.52, for a total transaction of $578,062.80. Following the sale, the insider owned 313,680 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,417,833.60. This represents a 28.96% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Insiders own 9.30% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in IRWD. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership raised its holdings in Ironwood Pharmaceuticals by 724.5% in the first quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 3,397,242 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $11,924,000 after buying an additional 2,985,181 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its stake in 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 worth $7,307,000 after buying an additional 1,751,219 shares during the period. Hillsdale Investment Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Ironwood Pharmaceuticals by 6.9% in the first quarter. Hillsdale Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,236,628 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $4,341,000 after acquiring an additional 80,250 shares in the last quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Ironwood Pharmaceuticals in the first quarter worth $3,982,000. Finally, Sei Investments Co. raised its stake in shares of Ironwood Pharmaceuticals by 10.2% in the 1st quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 742,548 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $2,606,000 after acquiring an additional 68,686 shares during the period.

About Ironwood Pharmaceuticals

Ironwood Pharmaceuticals, Inc is a gastrointestinal-focused pharmaceutical company headquartered in Boston, Massachusetts. The company discovers, develops, and commercializes medicines for gastrointestinal diseases and other disorders where significant unmet medical needs remain.

Ironwood's primary marketed product is LINZESS (linaclotide), an oral medication used to treat irritable bowel syndrome with constipation and chronic idiopathic constipation. The product was approved by the U.S.

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