Ironwood Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:IRWD) Receives Average Rating of “Hold” from Analysts

Ironwood Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:IRWD) has been given a consensus rating of “Hold” by the seven research firms that are presently covering the stock, MarketBeat.com reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, three have issued a hold recommendation, two have assigned a buy recommendation and one has given a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 1 year price target among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $6.2333.

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Zacks Research lowered Ironwood Pharmaceuticals from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, July 30th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Ironwood Pharmaceuticals from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Sunday, May 17th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a “sell (d+)” rating on shares of Ironwood Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Friday, July 24th.

Ironwood Pharmaceuticals Stock Up 4.5%

NASDAQ IRWD opened at $4.42 on Thursday. Ironwood Pharmaceuticals has a 52-week low of $0.71 and a 52-week high of $5.78. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $3.86 and its 200 day moving average price is $3.97. The firm has a market cap of $720.73 million, a P/E ratio of 7.37 and a beta of 0.20.

Ironwood Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:IRWD) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 7th. The biotechnology company reported $0.24 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.25 by ($0.01). Ironwood Pharmaceuticals had a net margin of 28.26% and a negative return on equity of 39.65%. The company had revenue of $106.51 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $92.11 million. As a group, analysts anticipate that Ironwood Pharmaceuticals will post 1.04 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Ironwood Pharmaceuticals

In other news, Director Julie Mchugh sold 21,571 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $3.73, for a total transaction of $80,459.83. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 250,749 shares in the company, valued at $935,293.77. The trade was a 7.92% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, insider Ronald Silver sold 127,890 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $4.52, for a total transaction of $578,062.80. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 313,680 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,417,833.60. This represents a 28.96% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. 9.30% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Ironwood Pharmaceuticals

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Ironwood Pharmaceuticals by 535.8% in the 1st quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 2,523,875 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $3,710,000 after buying an additional 2,126,889 shares during the period. Millennium Management LLC grew its holdings in Ironwood Pharmaceuticals by 186.6% during the first quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 6,359,682 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $9,349,000 after acquiring an additional 4,140,439 shares during the period. Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd purchased a new position in Ironwood Pharmaceuticals in the first quarter worth $57,000. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. raised its position in Ironwood Pharmaceuticals by 72.1% in the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 1,575,416 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $2,316,000 after acquiring an additional 660,144 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Jane Street Group LLC lifted its holdings in Ironwood Pharmaceuticals by 740.5% in the first quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 3,510,117 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $5,160,000 after acquiring an additional 3,092,475 shares during the period.

Ironwood Pharmaceuticals Company Profile

Ironwood Pharmaceuticals, Inc is a commercial‐stage biotechnology company focused on the discovery, development and commercialization of medicines for gastrointestinal (GI) disorders. The company’s flagship product is linaclotide, marketed under the brand name LINZESS in the United States for the treatment of irritable bowel syndrome with constipation (IBS-C) and chronic idiopathic constipation (CIC). Through a strategic collaboration with Allergan (now part of AbbVie), Ironwood also commercializes linaclotide in select ex-U.S.