Ironwood Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:IRWD) Upgraded by StockNews.com to “Buy” Rating

Ironwood Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:IRWD) was upgraded by investment analysts at StockNews.com from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report issued to clients and investors on Thursday.

IRWD has been the topic of a number of other research reports. Craig Hallum lowered their target price on shares of Ironwood Pharmaceuticals from $10.00 to $8.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, January 22nd. JMP Securities decreased their price target on shares of Ironwood Pharmaceuticals from $23.00 to $14.00 and set a “market outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $8.60.

Ironwood Pharmaceuticals Stock Performance

Shares of Ironwood Pharmaceuticals stock traded down $0.03 on Thursday, hitting $1.51. 1,740,323 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,427,487. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $2.62 and a 200-day simple moving average of $3.64. The stock has a market capitalization of $241.64 million, a PE ratio of -50.33 and a beta of 0.37. Ironwood Pharmaceuticals has a 1 year low of $1.34 and a 1 year high of $9.23.

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

Insider Transactions at Ironwood Pharmaceuticals

In related news, CMO Michael Shetzline sold 41,269 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $1.76, for a total transaction of $72,633.44. Following the transaction, 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 sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Thomas A. Mccourt sold 139,064 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $1.76, for a total transaction of $244,752.64. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 1,160,634 shares in the company, valued at $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. Insiders have sold a total of 192,381 shares of company stock worth $338,591 in the last three months. Insiders own 12.90% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Ironwood Pharmaceuticals

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Pacer Advisors Inc. grew its stake in Ironwood Pharmaceuticals by 4.0% in the 4th quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 11,730,771 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $51,967,000 after acquiring an additional 450,949 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp lifted its position in shares of Ironwood Pharmaceuticals by 7.3% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 9,919,865 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $40,870,000 after purchasing an additional 677,024 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Ironwood Pharmaceuticals by 23.7% in the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,904,271 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $7,846,000 after purchasing an additional 364,841 shares during the period. FMR LLC lifted its position in shares of Ironwood Pharmaceuticals by 25.1% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 169,681 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $699,000 after purchasing an additional 34,089 shares during the period. Finally, Weiss Asset Management LP purchased a new stake in shares of Ironwood Pharmaceuticals in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $893,000.

Ironwood Pharmaceuticals Company Profile

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.