Ironwood Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:IRWD) Cut to “Hold” at Zacks Research

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

Several other equities research analysts have also commented on the company. Weiss Ratings restated a “sell (d+)” rating on shares of Ironwood Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Friday, July 24th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Ironwood Pharmaceuticals from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Sunday, May 17th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have assigned a Buy rating, three have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $6.23.

Ironwood Pharmaceuticals Stock Up 13.4%

NASDAQ:IRWD opened at $4.23 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $689.74 million, a P/E ratio of 7.05 and a beta of 0.20. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $3.85 and its two-hundred day moving average is $3.98. Ironwood Pharmaceuticals has a fifty-two week low of $0.71 and a fifty-two week high of $5.78.

Ironwood Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:IRWD) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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). The company had revenue of $106.51 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $92.11 million. Ironwood Pharmaceuticals had a net margin of 28.26% and a negative return on equity of 39.65%. Research analysts forecast that Ironwood Pharmaceuticals will post 1.04 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Julie Mchugh sold 21,571 shares of Ironwood Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the director owned 250,749 shares in the company, valued at $935,293.77. This trade represents a 7.92% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Ronald Silver sold 127,890 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $4.52, for a total transaction of $578,062.80. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 313,680 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,417,833.60. The trade was a 28.96% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. 9.30% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of IRWD. AQR Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of Ironwood Pharmaceuticals by 535.8% during the first quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 2,523,875 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $3,710,000 after buying an additional 2,126,889 shares in the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC raised its position in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 4,140,439 shares in the last quarter. Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd bought a new position in shares of Ironwood Pharmaceuticals in the 1st quarter worth about $57,000. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. boosted its stake 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 valued at $2,316,000 after acquiring an additional 660,144 shares during the period. Finally, Jane Street Group LLC grew its stake in Ironwood Pharmaceuticals by 740.5% during the 1st quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 3,510,117 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $5,160,000 after buying an additional 3,092,475 shares during 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.