Ironwood Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:IRWD) Given Average Recommendation of "Hold" by Brokerages

Key Points

• Eight brokerages give Ironwood an average recommendation of Hold, with a split of 1 sell / 4 hold / 2 buy / 1 strong buy and an average 1‑year target price of $4.93.
• Director Alexander J. Denner sold 6,730,800 shares at an average $3.05 on March 17, cutting his ownership by ~42.3% (insiders still own 12.7%), a sizable insider disposition that may affect investor sentiment.
• Ironwood missed last quarter's estimates, reporting EPS of ($0.01) vs. $0.02 expected and revenue of $47.71M vs. $86.10M consensus, and showing a negative return on equity of 13.72%.

Shares of Ironwood Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:IRWD - Get Free Report) have been given an average recommendation of "Hold" by the eight brokerages that are currently covering the firm, Marketbeat reports. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating, two have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. The average 1 year target price among analysts that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $4.9250.

Several research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Citizens Jmp increased their price target on shares of Ironwood Pharmaceuticals from $8.00 to $10.00 and gave the company a "market outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, February 26th. Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a "hold" rating and issued a $3.70 target price on shares of Ironwood Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Thursday, February 26th. Craig Hallum upgraded Ironwood Pharmaceuticals from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Monday, January 5th. Wall Street Zen cut Ironwood Pharmaceuticals from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Saturday, March 7th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on Ironwood Pharmaceuticals from $3.00 to $5.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Monday, January 5th.

Insider Buying and Selling at Ironwood Pharmaceuticals

In other news, Director Alexander J. Denner sold 6,730,800 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $3.05, for a total value of $20,528,940.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 9,188,635 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $28,025,336.75. The trade was a 42.28% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Corporate insiders own 12.70% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Ironwood Pharmaceuticals

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Armistice Capital LLC boosted its position in shares of Ironwood Pharmaceuticals by 17.9% during the 2nd quarter. Armistice Capital LLC now owns 16,150,000 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $11,583,000 after acquiring an additional 2,450,000 shares in the last quarter. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH raised its position in Ironwood Pharmaceuticals by 26.0% during the second quarter. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH now owns 526,775 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $378,000 after purchasing an additional 108,822 shares in the last quarter. State of Wyoming lifted its stake in Ironwood Pharmaceuticals by 76.2% during the third quarter. State of Wyoming now owns 362,407 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $475,000 after purchasing an additional 156,763 shares during the last quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. lifted its stake in Ironwood Pharmaceuticals by 474.7% during the fourth quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 36,090 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $122,000 after purchasing an additional 29,810 shares during the last quarter. Finally, SG Americas Securities LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Ironwood Pharmaceuticals by 56.3% in the 4th quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 57,747 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $195,000 after purchasing an additional 20,795 shares in the last quarter.

Ironwood Pharmaceuticals Price Performance

IRWD stock opened at $3.15 on Friday. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $4.12 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $3.11. Ironwood Pharmaceuticals has a one year low of $0.53 and a one year high of $5.78. The stock has a market cap of $513.64 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.23 and a beta of 0.24.

Ironwood Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:IRWD - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 25th. The biotechnology company reported ($0.01) earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.02 by ($0.03). The company had revenue of $47.71 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $86.10 million. Ironwood Pharmaceuticals had a net margin of 8.11% and a negative return on equity of 13.72%. Research analysts anticipate that Ironwood Pharmaceuticals will post 0.1 EPS for the current fiscal year.

About Ironwood Pharmaceuticals

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.

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