Ironwood Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:IRWD) Downgraded by StockNews.com to “Hold”

Ironwood Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:IRWD) was downgraded by StockNews.com from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report issued on Tuesday.

Several other analysts have also recently weighed in on the company. Leerink Partners dropped their price objective on Ironwood Pharmaceuticals from $3.00 to $1.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a report on Monday. Wells Fargo & Company restated an “equal weight” rating and issued a $1.00 price objective (down from $7.00) on shares of Ironwood Pharmaceuticals in a report on Tuesday. JMP Securities lowered their target price on shares of Ironwood Pharmaceuticals from $23.00 to $14.00 and set a “market outperform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Jefferies Financial Group reissued a “hold” rating and issued a $0.70 price target (down previously from $8.00) on shares of Ironwood Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Tuesday. Finally, Craig Hallum decreased their price objective on Ironwood Pharmaceuticals from $10.00 to $8.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, January 22nd. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Ironwood Pharmaceuticals presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $4.78.

Ironwood Pharmaceuticals Stock Up 11.5 %

NASDAQ:IRWD traded up $0.07 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $0.72. 13,909,080 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,547,187. The stock has a market cap of $116.86 million, a PE ratio of -24.07 and a beta of 0.30. Ironwood Pharmaceuticals has a 12 month low of $0.59 and a 12 month high of $8.45. The company has a fifty day moving average of $1.50 and a 200 day moving average of $3.08.

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

Insider Activity at Ironwood Pharmaceuticals

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

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Ironwood Pharmaceuticals

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in IRWD. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. raised its stake in shares of Ironwood Pharmaceuticals by 10.4% in the 4th quarter. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 33,932 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $150,000 after purchasing an additional 3,209 shares during the period. Quantinno Capital Management LP raised its position in Ironwood Pharmaceuticals by 40.0% in the 3rd quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP now owns 19,191 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $79,000 after buying an additional 5,482 shares during the last quarter. Swiss National Bank lifted its stake in Ironwood Pharmaceuticals by 2.2% in the 4th quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 282,700 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $1,252,000 after acquiring an additional 6,000 shares in the last quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas boosted its position in Ironwood Pharmaceuticals by 19.6% during the 4th quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas now owns 42,893 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $190,000 after acquiring an additional 7,020 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. bought a new position in shares of Ironwood Pharmaceuticals during the 4th quarter worth approximately $36,000.

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.