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

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

Several other equities research analysts have also weighed in on the company. JMP Securities reduced their price objective 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. Craig Hallum decreased their price objective on Ironwood Pharmaceuticals from $10.00 to $8.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $8.60.

Ironwood Pharmaceuticals Trading Down 3.4 %

Shares of NASDAQ:IRWD opened at $1.41 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $225.64 million, a P/E ratio of -47.00 and a beta of 0.37. Ironwood Pharmaceuticals has a twelve month low of $1.34 and a twelve month high of $8.64. The company has a 50 day moving average of $2.04 and a 200-day moving average of $3.39.

Ironwood Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:IRWD) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, February 27th. The biotechnology company reported $0.02 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate 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 the consensus estimate of $93.85 million. Equities research analysts forecast that Ironwood Pharmaceuticals will post 0.1 EPS for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO Thomas A. Mccourt sold 139,064 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,042,715.84. The trade was a 10.70 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $975,052.32. This represents a 6.93 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 192,381 shares of company stock valued at $338,591 over the last three months. 12.90% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Ironwood Pharmaceuticals

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in IRWD. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. bought a new stake in shares of Ironwood Pharmaceuticals in the 4th quarter worth approximately $36,000. Journey Strategic Wealth LLC bought a new position in shares of Ironwood Pharmaceuticals during the 4th quarter worth approximately $45,000. Catalyst Funds Management Pty Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of Ironwood Pharmaceuticals in the 4th quarter valued at $47,000. Xponance Inc. acquired a new position in Ironwood Pharmaceuticals in the fourth quarter valued at about $50,000. Finally, Envestnet Asset Management Inc. bought a new stake in Ironwood Pharmaceuticals during the 4th quarter worth 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.