Ironwood Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:IRWD) Upgraded to Buy at StockNews.com

StockNews.com upgraded shares of Ironwood Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:IRWD - Free Report) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a report released on Saturday.

Other equities analysts have also recently issued research reports about the stock. Craig Hallum cut their target price on shares of 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 on the stock in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $8.60.

Ironwood Pharmaceuticals Stock Up 2.1 %

Shares of IRWD traded up $0.03 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $1.44. The stock had a trading volume of 1,521,983 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,416,124. Ironwood Pharmaceuticals has a fifty-two week low of $1.32 and a fifty-two week high of $8.45. The company has a market cap of $230.44 million, a PE ratio of -48.00 and a beta of 0.37. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $1.90 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $3.32.

Ironwood Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:IRWD - Get Free Report) 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 business had revenue of $90.55 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $93.85 million. Equities analysts expect that Ironwood Pharmaceuticals will post 0.1 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Ironwood Pharmaceuticals news, CEO Thomas A. Mccourt sold 139,064 shares of the firm'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 transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 1,160,634 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,042,715.84. This trade represents a 10.70 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CMO Michael Shetzline sold 41,269 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $1.76, for a total transaction of $72,633.44. Following the completion of the sale, the chief marketing officer now directly owns 554,007 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $975,052.32. This represents a 6.93 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 192,381 shares of company stock valued at $338,591 in the last three months. 12.90% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Ironwood Pharmaceuticals

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. acquired a new position in Ironwood Pharmaceuticals during the fourth quarter worth about $36,000. Journey Strategic Wealth LLC acquired a new position in shares of Ironwood Pharmaceuticals in the 4th quarter worth approximately $45,000. Catalyst Funds Management Pty Ltd bought a new stake in shares of Ironwood Pharmaceuticals in the 4th quarter worth approximately $47,000. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Ironwood Pharmaceuticals in the 4th quarter worth approximately $50,000. Finally, Xponance Inc. acquired a new stake in Ironwood Pharmaceuticals during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $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.