Ironwood Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:IRWD) Receives Consensus Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from Brokerages

Shares of Ironwood Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:IRWD) have been assigned a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” from the six ratings firms that are currently covering the stock, Marketbeat.com reports. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average 12 month price objective among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $10.40.

Several analysts have issued reports on the company. StockNews.com lowered Ironwood Pharmaceuticals from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 12th. Leerink Partners assumed coverage on shares of Ironwood Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Monday, September 9th. They issued a “market perform” rating and a $5.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Leerink Partnrs raised shares of Ironwood Pharmaceuticals to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, September 9th.

Insider Buying and Selling at Ironwood Pharmaceuticals

In other Ironwood Pharmaceuticals news, CFO Sravan Kumar Emany sold 11,001 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $4.08, for a total value of $44,884.08. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 309,572 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,263,053.76. This trade represents a 3.43 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 12.90% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Ironwood Pharmaceuticals

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in IRWD. KBC Group NV increased its position in Ironwood Pharmaceuticals by 59.3% during the 3rd quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 8,593 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $35,000 after purchasing an additional 3,198 shares during the period. Wolverine Trading LLC bought a new position in Ironwood Pharmaceuticals in the third quarter worth about $51,000. Diversified Trust Co purchased a new stake in Ironwood Pharmaceuticals in the third quarter worth about $52,000. Legacy Capital Group California Inc. bought a new stake in Ironwood Pharmaceuticals during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $59,000. Finally, First Dallas Securities Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Ironwood Pharmaceuticals during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $73,000.

Ironwood Pharmaceuticals Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:IRWD opened at $4.51 on Wednesday. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $4.03 and its 200-day moving average price is $4.79. The firm has a market capitalization of $721.73 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -150.33 and a beta of 0.34. Ironwood Pharmaceuticals has a one year low of $3.06 and a one year high of $15.70.

Ironwood Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:IRWD) last released its earnings results on Thursday, November 7th. The biotechnology company reported $0.02 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.09 by ($0.07). Ironwood Pharmaceuticals had a negative net margin of 0.65% and a negative return on equity of 0.96%. The firm had revenue of $91.60 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $91.22 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.12 EPS. The firm’s revenue was down 19.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Ironwood Pharmaceuticals will post 0.08 EPS for the current year.

About Ironwood Pharmaceuticals

Ironwood Pharmaceuticals, Inc, a healthcare company, focuses on the development and commercialization of gastrointestinal (GI) products. It markets linaclotide, a guanylate cyclase type-C (GC-C) agonist for the treatment of adults suffering from irritable bowel syndrome with constipation or chronic idiopathic constipation under the LINZESS name in the United States, Mexico, Japan, Saudi Arabia, and China, as well as under the CONSTELLA name in the Canada and European countries.