Ironwood Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:IRWD) Raised to Buy at StockNews.com

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

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

Ironwood Pharmaceuticals Stock Performance

IRWD opened at $1.41 on Friday. Ironwood Pharmaceuticals has a 52-week low of $1.34 and a 52-week high of $8.64. The firm has a market cap of $225.64 million, a P/E ratio of -47.00 and a beta of 0.37. The business’s fifty day moving average is $2.04 and its 200-day moving average is $3.38.

Ironwood Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:IRWD) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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 for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $93.85 million. On average, research analysts predict that Ironwood Pharmaceuticals will post 0.1 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other 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 sale, the chief marketing officer now directly owns 554,007 shares in the company, valued at approximately $975,052.32. The trade was a 6.93 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Thomas A. Mccourt sold 139,064 shares of the company’s 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 $244,752.64. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,160,634 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,042,715.84. This represents a 10.70 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 192,381 shares of company stock valued at $338,591. 12.90% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Ironwood Pharmaceuticals

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. bought a new position in Ironwood Pharmaceuticals during the 4th quarter worth $36,000. Journey Strategic Wealth LLC bought a new position in shares of Ironwood Pharmaceuticals during the fourth quarter worth about $45,000. Catalyst Funds Management Pty Ltd acquired a new position in shares of Ironwood Pharmaceuticals in the fourth quarter worth approximately $47,000. Xponance Inc. bought a new stake in Ironwood Pharmaceuticals in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $50,000. Finally, Envestnet Asset Management Inc. acquired a new stake in Ironwood Pharmaceuticals during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $50,000.

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.