Ironwood Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:IRWD) Trading 8.1% Higher – Still a Buy?

Ironwood Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:IRWD)’s stock price was up 8.1% during mid-day trading on Tuesday . The company traded as high as $4.86 and last traded at $4.8650. Approximately 894,014 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 85% from the average daily volume of 5,780,666 shares. The stock had previously closed at $4.50.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have weighed in on IRWD. Craig Hallum upgraded Ironwood Pharmaceuticals from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, January 5th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on shares of Ironwood Pharmaceuticals from $3.00 to $5.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, January 5th. Weiss Ratings restated a “sell (d)” rating on shares of Ironwood Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Citizens Jmp upgraded shares of Ironwood Pharmaceuticals from a “market perform” rating to a “market outperform” rating and set a $8.00 target price for the company in a research note on Monday, January 5th. Finally, Zacks Research raised Ironwood Pharmaceuticals from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, January 1st. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have assigned a Buy rating, three have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $3.68.

Ironwood Pharmaceuticals Trading Down 3.6%

The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $4.25 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $2.70. The company has a market cap of $749.95 million, a PE ratio of 28.81 and a beta of 0.17.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Ironwood Pharmaceuticals

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Armistice Capital LLC grew its stake in shares of Ironwood Pharmaceuticals by 17.9% during the 2nd quarter. Armistice Capital LLC now owns 16,150,000 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $11,583,000 after purchasing an additional 2,450,000 shares during the period. Bank of America Corp DE boosted its holdings in Ironwood Pharmaceuticals by 248.3% during 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. Acadian Asset Management LLC grew its position in Ironwood Pharmaceuticals by 147.6% during the second quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 6,549,687 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $4,685,000 after buying an additional 3,904,498 shares during the period. Millennium Management LLC increased its holdings 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 valued at $9,349,000 after buying an additional 4,140,439 shares in the last quarter. Finally, AQR Capital Management LLC increased its holdings 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 valued at $4,422,000 after buying an additional 3,641,762 shares in the last quarter.

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.