Ironwood Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:IRWD) Short Interest Update

Ironwood Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:IRWD) was the target of a large growth in short interest in the month of December. As of December 15th, there was short interest totalling 12,080,000 shares, a growth of 7.7% from the November 30th total of 11,220,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 1,740,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 6.9 days. Currently, 7.8% of the company’s stock are sold short.

Ironwood Pharmaceuticals Stock Performance

Ironwood Pharmaceuticals stock opened at $4.43 on Wednesday. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $4.00 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $4.81. The company has a market cap of $708.92 million, a PE ratio of -147.67 and a beta of 0.41. Ironwood Pharmaceuticals has a fifty-two week low of $3.06 and a fifty-two week high of $15.70.

Ironwood Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:IRWD) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, November 7th. The biotechnology company reported $0.02 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.09 by ($0.07). Ironwood Pharmaceuticals had a negative net margin of 0.65% and a negative return on equity of 0.96%. The firm had revenue of $91.60 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $91.22 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.12 EPS. Ironwood Pharmaceuticals’s quarterly revenue was down 19.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts predict that Ironwood Pharmaceuticals will post 0.08 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have issued reports on IRWD shares. Leerink Partnrs raised shares of Ironwood Pharmaceuticals to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, September 9th. Leerink Partners assumed coverage on Ironwood Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Monday, September 9th. They set a “market perform” rating and a $5.00 target price on the stock. Finally, StockNews.com lowered Ironwood Pharmaceuticals from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 12th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Ironwood Pharmaceuticals has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $10.40.

Insider Activity

In other news, CFO Sravan Kumar Emany sold 11,001 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $4.08, for a total value of $44,884.08. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 309,572 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,263,053.76. This trade represents a 3.43 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 12.90% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Ironwood Pharmaceuticals

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Armistice Capital LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Ironwood Pharmaceuticals by 44.4% in the 2nd quarter. Armistice Capital LLC now owns 7,800,000 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $50,856,000 after buying an additional 2,400,000 shares during the period. Pacer Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in Ironwood Pharmaceuticals by 26.6% in the third quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 11,279,822 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $46,473,000 after acquiring an additional 2,372,183 shares during the period. Renaissance Technologies LLC lifted its holdings in Ironwood Pharmaceuticals by 20.7% in the second quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 8,571,898 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $55,889,000 after acquiring an additional 1,472,097 shares during the period. Stonepine Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Ironwood Pharmaceuticals by 1,982.8% during the 3rd quarter. Stonepine Capital Management LLC now owns 1,000,000 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $4,120,000 after purchasing an additional 951,988 shares during the period. Finally, State Street Corp increased its holdings in shares of Ironwood Pharmaceuticals by 7.3% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 9,919,865 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $40,870,000 after purchasing an additional 677,024 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.