Ironwood Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:IRWD) Short Interest Up 34.9% in March

Ironwood Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:IRWD) was the recipient of a significant increase in short interest in the month of March. As of March 15th, there was short interest totalling 16,250,000 shares, an increase of 34.9% from the February 28th total of 12,050,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 3,340,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 4.9 days. Currently, 10.5% of the company’s shares are sold short.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on the stock. JMP Securities decreased their price objective on shares of Ironwood Pharmaceuticals from $23.00 to $14.00 and set a “market outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Craig Hallum decreased their price target on shares of Ironwood Pharmaceuticals from $10.00 to $8.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded Ironwood Pharmaceuticals from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $8.60.

Ironwood Pharmaceuticals Trading Up 4.6 %

NASDAQ:IRWD traded up $0.07 on Monday, reaching $1.48. The stock had a trading volume of 1,410,642 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,423,302. The company has a 50-day moving average of $2.04 and a 200 day moving average of $3.38. The stock has a market cap of $236.04 million, a P/E ratio of -49.33 and a beta of 0.37. Ironwood Pharmaceuticals has a 12-month low of $1.34 and a 12-month high of $8.64.

Ironwood Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:IRWD) last released its earnings results on Thursday, February 27th. The biotechnology company reported $0.02 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.10 by ($0.08). The business had revenue of $90.55 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $93.85 million. Ironwood Pharmaceuticals had a negative net margin of 0.65% and a negative return on equity of 0.96%. On average, equities analysts predict that Ironwood Pharmaceuticals will post 0.1 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity at Ironwood Pharmaceuticals

In other news, CEO Thomas A. Mccourt sold 139,064 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $1.76, for a total value of $244,752.64. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,160,634 shares in the company, valued at $2,042,715.84. This trade represents a 10.70 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CMO Michael Shetzline sold 41,269 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $1.76, for a total value of $72,633.44. Following the sale, the chief marketing officer now owns 554,007 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $975,052.32. The trade was a 6.93 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 192,381 shares of company stock worth $338,591. 12.90% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Ironwood Pharmaceuticals

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. bought a new stake in shares of Ironwood Pharmaceuticals in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $36,000. Journey Strategic Wealth LLC bought a new stake in Ironwood Pharmaceuticals during the fourth quarter valued at $45,000. Catalyst Funds Management Pty Ltd bought a new stake in Ironwood Pharmaceuticals during the fourth quarter valued at $47,000. Xponance Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Ironwood Pharmaceuticals during the fourth quarter worth $50,000. Finally, Envestnet Asset Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of Ironwood Pharmaceuticals in the 4th quarter worth about $50,000.

About Ironwood Pharmaceuticals

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.