Ironwood Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:IRWD) Sees Significant Decrease in Short Interest

Ironwood Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:IRWD) was the recipient of a significant decrease in short interest in June. As of June 15th, there was short interest totalling 20,220,000 shares, a decrease of 10.8% from the May 31st total of 22,660,000 shares. Currently, 13.1% of the company’s shares are sold short. Based on an average daily volume of 2,760,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 7.3 days.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

IRWD has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Craig Hallum cut their target price on shares of Ironwood Pharmaceuticals from $18.00 to $14.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, May 10th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Ironwood Pharmaceuticals from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 18th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $18.40.

Ironwood Pharmaceuticals Trading Down 1.8 %

IRWD stock traded down $0.11 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $6.11. The stock had a trading volume of 807,953 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,766,947. Ironwood Pharmaceuticals has a 52 week low of $5.47 and a 52 week high of $15.70. The firm has a market capitalization of $956.40 million, a P/E ratio of -0.90 and a beta of 0.52. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $6.63 and a 200 day simple moving average of $9.62.

Ironwood Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:IRWD) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, May 9th. The biotechnology company reported ($0.02) EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.18 by ($0.20). Ironwood Pharmaceuticals had a negative return on equity of 28.45% and a negative net margin of 254.41%. The business had revenue of $74.90 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $105.75 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.25 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 28.0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts expect that Ironwood Pharmaceuticals will post 0.56 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Ironwood Pharmaceuticals

In related news, Director Julie Mchugh sold 22,766 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, June 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $6.29, for a total value of $143,198.14. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 139,528 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $877,631.12. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In related news, Director Julie Mchugh sold 22,766 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, June 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $6.29, for a total value of $143,198.14. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 139,528 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $877,631.12. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Catherine Moukheibir sold 44,426 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, June 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $6.36, for a total transaction of $282,549.36. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 84,207 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $535,556.52. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 12.90% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. First Eagle Investment Management LLC increased its stake in Ironwood Pharmaceuticals by 11.1% during the 4th quarter. First Eagle Investment Management LLC now owns 907,225 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $10,379,000 after purchasing an additional 90,636 shares in the last quarter. Eventide Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Ironwood Pharmaceuticals in the 4th quarter worth $8,472,000. Walleye Capital LLC bought a new stake in shares of Ironwood Pharmaceuticals in the 3rd quarter worth $1,608,000. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Ironwood Pharmaceuticals in the 4th quarter worth $9,321,000. Finally, 13D Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Ironwood Pharmaceuticals by 971.8% in the 4th quarter. 13D Management LLC now owns 367,649 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $4,206,000 after acquiring an additional 333,348 shares in the last quarter.

Ironwood Pharmaceuticals Company Profile

Ironwood Pharmaceuticals, Inc, a healthcare company, focuses on the development and commercialization of gastrointestinal (GI) products. It markets linaclotide, a guanylate cyclase type-C (GC-C) agonist for the treatment of adults suffering from irritable bowel syndrome with constipation or chronic idiopathic constipation under the LINZESS name in the United States, Mexico, Japan, Saudi Arabia, and China, as well as under the CONSTELLA name in the Canada and European countries.