Ironwood Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:IRWD) Raised to “Strong-Buy” at Zacks Research

Ironwood Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:IRWD) was upgraded by stock analysts at Zacks Research from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a note issued to investors on Wednesday,Zacks.com reports.

A number of other research firms have also weighed in on IRWD. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Ironwood Pharmaceuticals from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Sunday, May 17th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “sell (d+)” rating on shares of Ironwood Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Monday, April 27th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have issued a Buy rating, two have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $6.23.

Ironwood Pharmaceuticals Trading Up 5.1%

Shares of Ironwood Pharmaceuticals stock opened at $4.33 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $706.05 million, a PE ratio of 7.22 and a beta of 0.20. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $3.83 and a 200 day moving average of $3.91. Ironwood Pharmaceuticals has a 12 month low of $0.67 and a 12 month high of $5.78.

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Julie Mchugh sold 21,571 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $3.73, for a total transaction of $80,459.83. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 250,749 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $935,293.77. The trade was a 7.92% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. 9.30% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Ironwood Pharmaceuticals

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of IRWD. Bank of America Corp DE grew its stake in Ironwood Pharmaceuticals by 248.3% in the third quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 11,695,544 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $15,321,000 after purchasing an additional 8,337,672 shares in the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC raised its position in Ironwood Pharmaceuticals by 186.6% during the 1st quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 6,359,682 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $9,349,000 after purchasing an additional 4,140,439 shares in the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Ironwood Pharmaceuticals by 144.3% in the 2nd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 6,165,637 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $4,422,000 after buying an additional 3,641,762 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Ironwood Pharmaceuticals by 1.2% in the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 4,975,939 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $16,769,000 after buying an additional 58,603 shares during the period. Finally, Marshall Wace LLP grew its position in shares of Ironwood Pharmaceuticals by 40.7% during the 4th quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 4,424,002 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $14,909,000 after buying an additional 1,279,863 shares in the last quarter.

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.