Ironwood Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:IRWD) Stock Rating Upgraded by Zacks Research

Ironwood Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:IRWD) was upgraded by equities researchers at Zacks Research from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note issued on Wednesday,Zacks.com reports.

Several other brokerages also recently issued reports on IRWD. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Ironwood Pharmaceuticals from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Sunday, May 17th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “sell (d+)” rating on shares of Ironwood Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Monday, April 27th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have assigned a Buy rating, two have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $6.23.

Ironwood Pharmaceuticals Stock Up 5.1%

NASDAQ IRWD opened at $4.33 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $706.05 million, a P/E ratio of 7.22 and a beta of 0.20. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $3.83 and a 200 day moving average price of $3.91. Ironwood Pharmaceuticals has a 52-week low of $0.67 and a 52-week high of $5.78.

Ironwood Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:IRWD) last posted 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 analysts’ expectations of $92.11 million. On average, equities research analysts expect that Ironwood Pharmaceuticals will post 1.04 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Ironwood Pharmaceuticals

In other news, Director Julie Mchugh sold 21,571 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $3.73, for a total value of $80,459.83. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 250,749 shares in the company, valued at approximately $935,293.77. The trade was a 7.92% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 9.30% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Ironwood Pharmaceuticals

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Range Financial Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Ironwood Pharmaceuticals in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,436,000. Hillsdale Investment Management Inc. bought a new stake in Ironwood Pharmaceuticals during the fourth quarter worth approximately $3,897,000. GSA Capital Partners LLP raised its position in shares of Ironwood Pharmaceuticals by 84.7% during the fourth quarter. GSA Capital Partners LLP now owns 571,613 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $1,926,000 after purchasing an additional 262,084 shares during the period. Persistent Asset Partners Ltd acquired a new stake in Ironwood Pharmaceuticals during the 4th quarter worth about $613,000. Finally, WINTON GROUP Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of Ironwood Pharmaceuticals in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $554,000.

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.