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

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

A number of other research firms also recently issued reports on IRWD. JMP Securities decreased their target price on Ironwood Pharmaceuticals from $23.00 to $14.00 and set a “market outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Craig Hallum decreased their target price on Ironwood Pharmaceuticals from $10.00 to $8.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Ironwood Pharmaceuticals presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $8.60.

Ironwood Pharmaceuticals Price Performance

NASDAQ:IRWD opened at $1.41 on Friday. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $2.27 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $3.49. Ironwood Pharmaceuticals has a 1 year low of $1.34 and a 1 year high of $9.01. The company has a market capitalization of $225.64 million, a P/E ratio of -47.00 and a beta of 0.37.

Ironwood Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:IRWD) last released 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 analysts’ expectations of $93.85 million. As a group, analysts anticipate that Ironwood Pharmaceuticals will post 0.1 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity

In related news, 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 transaction of $72,633.44. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief marketing officer now directly owns 554,007 shares in the company, valued at $975,052.32. The trade was a 6.93 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Thomas A. Mccourt sold 139,064 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 $244,752.64. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 1,160,634 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,042,715.84. The trade was a 10.70 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. 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 corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Ironwood Pharmaceuticals

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. KBC Group NV grew its position in Ironwood Pharmaceuticals by 59.3% during the third quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 8,593 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $35,000 after buying an additional 3,198 shares in the last quarter. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. grew its position in Ironwood Pharmaceuticals by 10.4% during the fourth quarter. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 33,932 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $150,000 after buying an additional 3,209 shares in the last quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP grew its position in Ironwood Pharmaceuticals by 40.0% during the third quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP now owns 19,191 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $79,000 after buying an additional 5,482 shares in the last quarter. Swiss National Bank lifted its stake in Ironwood Pharmaceuticals by 2.2% during the fourth quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 282,700 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $1,252,000 after purchasing an additional 6,000 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Teacher Retirement System of Texas lifted its stake in Ironwood Pharmaceuticals by 19.6% during the fourth quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas now owns 42,893 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $190,000 after purchasing an additional 7,020 shares during the last quarter.

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.