Insider Selling: Ironwood Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:IRWD) Director Sells $20,528,940.00 in Stock

Ironwood Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:IRWD) Director Alexander Denner sold 6,730,800 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $3.05, for a total value of $20,528,940.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 9,188,635 shares in the company, valued at approximately $28,025,336.75. This represents a 42.28% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link.

Ironwood Pharmaceuticals Trading Up 1.9%

Shares of NASDAQ IRWD opened at $3.23 on Friday. Ironwood Pharmaceuticals, Inc. has a twelve month low of $0.53 and a twelve month high of $5.78. The company has a market capitalization of $525.46 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.85 and a beta of 0.24. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $4.25 and a 200-day simple moving average of $3.05.

Ironwood Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:IRWD) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 25th. The biotechnology company reported ($0.01) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.02 by ($0.03). Ironwood Pharmaceuticals had a negative return on equity of 13.72% and a net margin of 8.11%.The firm had revenue of $47.71 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $86.10 million. As a group, equities analysts predict that Ironwood Pharmaceuticals, Inc. will post 0.1 earnings per share for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have recently commented on IRWD. Citizens Jmp lifted 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. Craig Hallum upgraded shares of Ironwood Pharmaceuticals from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, January 5th. Zacks Research cut shares of Ironwood Pharmaceuticals from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 25th. Weiss Ratings restated a “sell (d)” rating on shares of Ironwood Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on Ironwood Pharmaceuticals from $3.00 to $5.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, January 5th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have assigned a Buy rating, four have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $4.93.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Ironwood Pharmaceuticals

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. DGS Capital Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Ironwood Pharmaceuticals during the fourth quarter worth about $35,000. Invesco Ltd. increased its holdings in shares of Ironwood Pharmaceuticals by 22.6% in the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 449,219 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $1,514,000 after acquiring an additional 82,687 shares during the period. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV lifted its position in Ironwood Pharmaceuticals by 7.8% in the 4th quarter. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV now owns 76,951 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $259,000 after purchasing an additional 5,598 shares during the last quarter. XTX Topco Ltd boosted its stake in Ironwood Pharmaceuticals by 290.4% during the 4th quarter. XTX Topco Ltd now owns 43,904 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $148,000 after purchasing an additional 32,657 shares during the period. Finally, Virtus Investment Advisers LLC acquired a new position in Ironwood Pharmaceuticals during the 4th quarter valued at about $250,000.

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.