Ironwood Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:IRWD) Given Average Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by Brokerages

Ironwood Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:IRWD) has been assigned an average rating of “Moderate Buy” from the six ratings firms that are presently covering the company, MarketBeat.com reports. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and three have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average twelve-month price target among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $8.60.

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on the company. Craig Hallum cut their price target 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. JMP Securities cut their price target on Ironwood Pharmaceuticals from $23.00 to $14.00 and set a “market outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded Ironwood Pharmaceuticals from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday.

Ironwood Pharmaceuticals Price Performance

Shares of IRWD opened at $1.41 on Monday. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $2.27 and a 200-day moving average of $3.50. The company has a market cap of $225.64 million, a PE ratio of -47.00 and a beta of 0.37. Ironwood Pharmaceuticals has a one year low of $1.34 and a one year high of $9.10.

Ironwood Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:IRWD) last released its quarterly 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). The company had revenue of $90.55 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $93.85 million. Ironwood Pharmaceuticals had a negative net margin of 0.65% and a negative return on equity of 0.96%. Analysts expect that Ironwood Pharmaceuticals will post 0.1 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CMO Michael Shetzline sold 41,269 shares of Ironwood Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $1.76, for a total value of $72,633.44. Following the sale, the chief marketing officer now owns 554,007 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $975,052.32. The trade was a 6.93 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Thomas A. Mccourt sold 139,064 shares of Ironwood Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $1.76, for a total transaction 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 trade represents a 10.70 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 192,381 shares of company stock valued at $338,591. 12.90% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Ironwood Pharmaceuticals

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. purchased a new stake in shares of Ironwood Pharmaceuticals during the fourth quarter worth $36,000. KBC Group NV lifted its position in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 3,198 shares in the last quarter. Journey Strategic Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Ironwood Pharmaceuticals during the fourth quarter worth $45,000. Catalyst Funds Management Pty Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of Ironwood Pharmaceuticals during the fourth quarter worth $47,000. Finally, Envestnet Asset Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Ironwood Pharmaceuticals during the fourth quarter worth $50,000.

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.