Ironwood Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:IRWD) Stock Rating Upgraded by StockNews.com

Ironwood Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:IRWD) was upgraded by equities researchers at StockNews.com from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a note issued to investors on Saturday.

A number of other research analysts have also recently issued reports on IRWD. Craig Hallum reduced their price objective on shares of Ironwood Pharmaceuticals from $10.00 to $8.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, January 22nd. JMP Securities cut their price target on 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. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Ironwood Pharmaceuticals currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $8.60.

Ironwood Pharmaceuticals Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:IRWD opened at $1.41 on Friday. Ironwood Pharmaceuticals has a 52-week low of $1.34 and a 52-week high of $8.64. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $2.04 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $3.38. The firm has a market cap of $225.64 million, a P/E ratio of -47.00 and a beta of 0.37.

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

Insider Activity

In other Ironwood Pharmaceuticals news, CMO Michael Shetzline sold 41,269 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $1.76, for a total value of $72,633.44. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief marketing officer now owns 554,007 shares in the company, valued at $975,052.32. This represents a 6.93 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Thomas A. Mccourt sold 139,064 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $1.76, for a total value of $244,752.64. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,160,634 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,042,715.84. This represents a 10.70 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 192,381 shares of company stock worth $338,591 over the last quarter. Insiders own 12.90% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Ironwood Pharmaceuticals

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. boosted its stake in Ironwood Pharmaceuticals by 150.7% in the third quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. now owns 126,289 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $520,000 after acquiring an additional 75,917 shares during the last quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in Ironwood Pharmaceuticals in the third quarter valued at approximately $181,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its holdings in Ironwood Pharmaceuticals by 23.7% during the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,904,271 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $7,846,000 after purchasing an additional 364,841 shares during the period. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. increased its position in Ironwood Pharmaceuticals by 21.2% in the third quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 67,570 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $278,000 after buying an additional 11,800 shares during the last quarter. Finally, FMR LLC raised its stake in shares of Ironwood Pharmaceuticals by 25.1% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 169,681 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $699,000 after buying an additional 34,089 shares during the period.

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.