Ironwood Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:IRWD) Cut to “Buy” at Wall Street Zen

Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Ironwood Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:IRWD) from a strong-buy rating to a buy rating in a research note released on Saturday morning,Wall Street Zen reports.

Several other research firms have also issued reports on IRWD. Weiss Ratings raised Ironwood Pharmaceuticals from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research note on Friday, August 21st. Zacks Research lowered shares of Ironwood Pharmaceuticals from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 30th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have issued a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $6.23.

Ironwood Pharmaceuticals Stock Performance

NASDAQ:IRWD opened at $4.26 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $703.92 million, a P/E ratio of 5.53 and a beta of 0.20. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $4.18 and a 200 day moving average price of $3.88. Ironwood Pharmaceuticals has a fifty-two week low of $1.05 and a fifty-two week high of $5.78.

Ironwood Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:IRWD) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, August 6th. The biotechnology company reported $0.31 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.32 by ($0.01). Ironwood Pharmaceuticals had a net margin of 33.36% and a negative return on equity of 58.38%. The firm had revenue of $113.04 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $114.84 million. Research analysts forecast that Ironwood Pharmaceuticals will post 1.1 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Ironwood Pharmaceuticals

In related news, insider Ronald Silver sold 127,890 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 7th. The stock was 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $1,417,833.60. This trade represents a 28.96% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, Director Julie McHugh sold 21,571 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $3.73, for a total value of $80,459.83. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 250,749 shares in the company, valued at $935,293.77. This trade represents a 7.92% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. 9.30% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Ironwood Pharmaceuticals

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

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.