Ironwood Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:IRWD) Given Consensus Recommendation of "Moderate Buy" by Brokerages

Key Points

• Ironwood Pharmaceuticals has a “Moderate Buy” consensus rating from seven analysts, with two buy, two strong-buy, two hold, and one sell recommendation. The average 12-month price target is $6.23.
• Insiders recently sold shares, including Ronald Silver’s $578,063 transaction and Julie Mchugh’s $80,460 sale; insiders still own 9.3% of the company.
• IRWD opened at $3.56 after declining 6.3%, with a market capitalization of approximately $580.5 million. Its latest quarterly EPS of $0.24 slightly missed estimates, although revenue of $106.5 million exceeded forecasts.

Shares of Ironwood Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:IRWD - Get Free Report) have received an average recommendation of "Moderate Buy" from the seven ratings firms that are currently covering the company, MarketBeat Ratings reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating, two have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. The average 1 year price target among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $6.2333.

A number of research analysts have weighed in on IRWD shares. Zacks Research raised shares of Ironwood Pharmaceuticals from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 1st. Weiss Ratings reissued a "sell (d+)" rating on shares of Ironwood Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Friday, July 24th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Ironwood Pharmaceuticals from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Sunday, May 17th.

Insider Buying and Selling at Ironwood Pharmaceuticals

In other news, insider Ronald Silver sold 127,890 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $4.52, for a total transaction of $578,062.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 313,680 shares in the company, valued at $1,417,833.60. This represents a 28.96% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Julie Mchugh sold 21,571 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $3.73, for a total value of $80,459.83. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 250,749 shares of the company's stock, valued at $935,293.77. This trade represents a 7.92% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Corporate insiders own 9.30% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Ironwood Pharmaceuticals

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. LSV Asset Management acquired a new stake in shares of Ironwood Pharmaceuticals during the fourth quarter worth $30,000. Jump Financial LLC acquired a new position in shares of Ironwood Pharmaceuticals in the fourth quarter valued at about $34,000. DGS Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Ironwood Pharmaceuticals in the fourth quarter valued at about $35,000. Cibc World Markets Corp bought a new position in Ironwood Pharmaceuticals during the fourth quarter worth about $36,000. Finally, Simplify Asset Management Inc. bought a new position in Ironwood Pharmaceuticals during the fourth quarter worth about $37,000.

Ironwood Pharmaceuticals Trading Down 6.3%

Ironwood Pharmaceuticals stock opened at $3.56 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $580.49 million, a PE ratio of 5.93 and a beta of 0.20. Ironwood Pharmaceuticals has a 1 year low of $0.71 and a 1 year high of $5.78. The company's 50-day moving average is $3.84 and its two-hundred day moving average is $3.98.

Ironwood Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:IRWD - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 7th. The biotechnology company reported $0.24 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.25 by ($0.01). The company had revenue of $106.51 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $92.11 million. Ironwood Pharmaceuticals had a negative return on equity of 39.65% and a net margin of 28.26%. Research analysts forecast that Ironwood Pharmaceuticals will post 1.04 EPS for the current year.

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.

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