Ironwood Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:IRWD) Cut to “Hold” at StockNews.com

Ironwood Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:IRWD) was downgraded by research analysts at StockNews.com from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note issued on Tuesday.

IRWD has been the subject of a number of other research reports. Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a “hold” rating and set a $0.70 price target (down previously from $8.00) on shares of Ironwood Pharmaceuticals in a report on Tuesday. Craig Hallum decreased their target price on Ironwood Pharmaceuticals from $10.00 to $8.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, January 22nd. JMP Securities cut their price target on Ironwood Pharmaceuticals from $23.00 to $14.00 and set a “market outperform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Leerink Partners decreased their price objective on shares of Ironwood Pharmaceuticals from $3.00 to $1.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a report on Monday. Finally, Citizens Jmp cut shares of Ironwood Pharmaceuticals from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research note on Monday. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $4.78.

Ironwood Pharmaceuticals Stock Performance

IRWD traded up $0.07 on Tuesday, hitting $0.72. 13,909,080 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,547,187. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $1.50 and its 200-day moving average is $3.08. The company has a market cap of $116.86 million, a PE ratio of -24.07 and a beta of 0.30. Ironwood Pharmaceuticals has a 12 month low of $0.59 and a 12 month high of $8.45.

Ironwood Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:IRWD) last released its earnings results on Thursday, February 27th. The biotechnology company reported $0.02 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.10 by ($0.08). Ironwood Pharmaceuticals had a negative net margin of 0.65% and a negative return on equity of 0.96%. The firm had revenue of $90.55 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $93.85 million. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Ironwood Pharmaceuticals will post 0.1 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Ironwood Pharmaceuticals

In related news, CEO Thomas A. Mccourt sold 139,064 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $1.76, for a total transaction of $244,752.64. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 1,160,634 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,042,715.84. This represents a 10.70 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CMO Michael Shetzline sold 41,269 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $1.76, for a total transaction of $72,633.44. Following the sale, the chief marketing officer now owns 554,007 shares in the company, valued at $975,052.32. The trade was a 6.93 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 192,381 shares of company stock worth $338,591. Corporate insiders own 12.90% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Ironwood Pharmaceuticals

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in IRWD. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. acquired a new position in Ironwood Pharmaceuticals during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $36,000. Journey Strategic Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in Ironwood Pharmaceuticals in the fourth quarter valued at about $45,000. Simplicity Wealth LLC bought a new position in Ironwood Pharmaceuticals in the first quarter valued at about $45,000. Catalyst Funds Management Pty Ltd acquired a new position in Ironwood Pharmaceuticals during the fourth quarter worth about $47,000. Finally, Xponance Inc. bought a new position in shares of Ironwood Pharmaceuticals in the fourth quarter worth about $50,000.

Ironwood Pharmaceuticals Company Profile

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.