Lazard Asset Management LLC Has $1.02 Million Stake in Ironwood Pharmaceuticals, Inc. $IRWD

Lazard Asset Management LLC reduced its position in shares of Ironwood Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:IRWD) by 71.0% during the 1st quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 290,189 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock after selling 710,256 shares during the quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Ironwood Pharmaceuticals were worth $1,019,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of IRWD. OMERS ADMINISTRATION Corp raised its holdings in shares of Ironwood Pharmaceuticals by 5.2% in the 1st quarter. OMERS ADMINISTRATION Corp now owns 226,310 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $794,000 after purchasing an additional 11,200 shares during the period. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership lifted its stake in Ironwood Pharmaceuticals by 724.5% in the 1st quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 3,397,242 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $11,924,000 after purchasing an additional 2,985,181 shares during the last quarter. Sei Investments Co. grew its holdings in Ironwood Pharmaceuticals by 10.2% during the first quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 742,548 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $2,606,000 after purchasing an additional 68,686 shares during the period. Globeflex Capital L P bought a new position in Ironwood Pharmaceuticals during the first quarter worth about $912,000. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its position in Ironwood Pharmaceuticals by 529.3% during the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 2,082,055 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $7,307,000 after buying an additional 1,751,219 shares during the last quarter.

Ironwood Pharmaceuticals Stock Performance

NASDAQ IRWD opened at $4.15 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $676.70 million, a PE ratio of 6.92 and a beta of 0.20. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $3.87 and a 200-day moving average of $3.97. Ironwood Pharmaceuticals, Inc. has a 52-week low of $0.80 and a 52-week high of $5.78.

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on IRWD shares. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “sell (d+)” rating on shares of Ironwood Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Friday, July 24th. Wall Street Zen raised Ironwood Pharmaceuticals from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Sunday, May 17th. Finally, Zacks Research cut Ironwood Pharmaceuticals from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 30th. One 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 company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $6.23.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Julie Mchugh sold 21,571 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $3.73, for a total transaction of $80,459.83. Following the transaction, the director owned 250,749 shares in the company, valued at approximately $935,293.77. This trade represents a 7.92% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Ronald Silver sold 127,890 shares of Ironwood Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $4.52, for a total value 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. Insiders own 9.30% of the company’s stock.

Ironwood Pharmaceuticals 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.