Ironwood Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:IRWD) Rating Lowered 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 report issued to clients and investors on Thursday,Zacks.com reports.

IRWD has been the topic of a number of other reports. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Ironwood Pharmaceuticals from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Sunday, May 17th. Weiss Ratings restated a “sell (d+)” rating on shares of Ironwood Pharmaceuticals in a report on Friday, July 24th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have assigned a Buy rating, three have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $6.23.

Ironwood Pharmaceuticals Stock Up 13.4%

NASDAQ:IRWD opened at $4.23 on Thursday. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $3.85 and its 200 day moving average price is $3.98. The firm has a market cap of $689.74 million, a P/E ratio of 7.05 and a beta of 0.20. Ironwood Pharmaceuticals has a 52-week low of $0.71 and a 52-week high of $5.78.

Ironwood Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:IRWD) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 7th. The biotechnology company reported $0.24 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.25 by ($0.01). Ironwood Pharmaceuticals had a net margin of 28.26% and a negative return on equity of 39.65%. The business had revenue of $106.51 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $92.11 million. Sell-side analysts expect that Ironwood Pharmaceuticals will post 1.04 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Ironwood Pharmaceuticals news, Director Julie Mchugh sold 21,571 shares of Ironwood Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction 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 completion of the sale, the director owned 250,749 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $935,293.77. This trade represents a 7.92% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Ronald Silver sold 127,890 shares of the business’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 transaction, the insider owned 313,680 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,417,833.60. This represents a 28.96% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders own 9.30% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Ironwood Pharmaceuticals

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Krilogy Financial LLC lifted its stake in shares of Ironwood Pharmaceuticals by 9.8% in the first quarter. Krilogy Financial LLC now owns 33,194 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $117,000 after buying an additional 2,971 shares during the last quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Ironwood Pharmaceuticals by 9.6% in the 4th quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 36,315 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $122,000 after acquiring an additional 3,170 shares during the period. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC lifted its position in Ironwood Pharmaceuticals by 21.4% during the 3rd quarter. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC now owns 19,295 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $25,000 after acquiring an additional 3,406 shares during the last quarter. DGS Capital Management LLC lifted its position in Ironwood Pharmaceuticals by 42.8% during the 1st quarter. DGS Capital Management LLC now owns 14,883 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $52,000 after acquiring an additional 4,458 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV boosted its holdings in Ironwood Pharmaceuticals by 7.8% during the fourth quarter. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV now owns 76,951 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $259,000 after acquiring an additional 5,598 shares during the period.

About Ironwood Pharmaceuticals

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.