Ironwood Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:IRWD) Given Consensus Rating of “Hold” by Analysts

Shares of Ironwood Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:IRWD) have received a consensus recommendation of “Hold” from the eight research firms that are presently covering the stock, Marketbeat.com reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating, two have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. The average 1 year target price among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $4.9250.

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “sell (d)” rating on shares of Ironwood Pharmaceuticals in a report on Monday, December 29th. Citizens Jmp increased their price objective on shares of Ironwood Pharmaceuticals from $8.00 to $10.00 and gave the company a “market outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 26th. Craig Hallum upgraded shares of Ironwood Pharmaceuticals from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, January 5th. Wall Street Zen cut Ironwood Pharmaceuticals from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, March 7th. Finally, Citigroup raised Ironwood Pharmaceuticals from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, January 5th.

Ironwood Pharmaceuticals Stock Down 1.3%

NASDAQ:IRWD opened at $3.15 on Friday. Ironwood Pharmaceuticals has a twelve month low of $0.53 and a twelve month high of $5.78. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $4.12 and its 200 day simple moving average is $3.11. The firm has a market capitalization of $513.64 million, a PE ratio of 24.23 and a beta of 0.24.

Ironwood Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:IRWD) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, February 25th. The biotechnology company reported ($0.01) EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.02 by ($0.03). The business had revenue of $47.71 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $86.10 million. Ironwood Pharmaceuticals had a negative return on equity of 13.72% and a net margin of 8.11%. On average, analysts anticipate that Ironwood Pharmaceuticals will post 0.1 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Ironwood Pharmaceuticals

In other news, Director Alexander J. Denner sold 6,730,800 shares of Ironwood Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $3.05, for a total transaction of $20,528,940.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 9,188,635 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $28,025,336.75. This trade represents a 42.28% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders own 12.70% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Bank of America Corp DE raised its holdings in Ironwood Pharmaceuticals by 248.3% during the 3rd quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 11,695,544 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $15,321,000 after purchasing an additional 8,337,672 shares during the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Ironwood Pharmaceuticals by 186.6% in the 1st quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 6,359,682 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $9,349,000 after purchasing an additional 4,140,439 shares during the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of Ironwood Pharmaceuticals by 144.3% during the second quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 6,165,637 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $4,422,000 after buying an additional 3,641,762 shares during the period. Marshall Wace LLP increased its position in shares of Ironwood Pharmaceuticals by 616.3% during the second quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 3,993,557 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $2,875,000 after buying an additional 3,436,036 shares during the period. Finally, Jane Street Group LLC raised its stake in Ironwood Pharmaceuticals by 740.5% during the first quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 3,510,117 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $5,160,000 after buying an additional 3,092,475 shares during the last quarter.

Ironwood Pharmaceuticals Company 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.