Ironwood Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:IRWD) Shares Acquired by Royce & Associates LP

Royce & Associates LP lifted its stake in Ironwood Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:IRWD) by 10.9% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 735,436 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock after buying an additional 72,502 shares during the period. Royce & Associates LP owned approximately 0.46% of Ironwood Pharmaceuticals worth $3,258,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. KBC Group NV grew its position in shares of Ironwood Pharmaceuticals by 59.3% in the 3rd quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 8,593 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $35,000 after buying an additional 3,198 shares during the last quarter. Journey Strategic Wealth LLC purchased a new position in shares of Ironwood Pharmaceuticals in the 4th quarter valued at $45,000. Catalyst Funds Management Pty Ltd purchased a new position in shares of Ironwood Pharmaceuticals in the 4th quarter valued at $47,000. Wolverine Trading LLC purchased a new position in shares of Ironwood Pharmaceuticals in the 3rd quarter valued at $51,000. Finally, SG Americas Securities LLC purchased a new position in shares of Ironwood Pharmaceuticals in the 4th quarter valued at $53,000.

Ironwood Pharmaceuticals Stock Up 2.8 %

Shares of NASDAQ:IRWD opened at $1.49 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $238.44 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -49.67 and a beta of 0.37. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $2.38 and its 200-day simple moving average is $3.54. Ironwood Pharmaceuticals, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $1.34 and a fifty-two week high of $9.23.

Ironwood Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:IRWD) last issued 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). The firm had revenue of $90.55 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $93.85 million. Ironwood Pharmaceuticals had a negative net margin of 0.65% and a negative return on equity of 0.96%. On average, research analysts forecast that Ironwood Pharmaceuticals, Inc. will post 0.1 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity at Ironwood Pharmaceuticals

In related news, CMO Michael Shetzline sold 41,269 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 value of $72,633.44. Following the completion of the sale, the chief marketing officer now owns 554,007 shares in the company, valued at $975,052.32. This trade represents a 6.93 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, 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 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 trade represents a 10.70 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 192,381 shares of company stock worth $338,591 over the last 90 days. Company insiders own 12.90% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have issued reports on IRWD shares. Craig Hallum lowered their price objective on shares of Ironwood Pharmaceuticals from $10.00 to $8.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, January 22nd. JMP Securities lowered their price objective on shares of Ironwood Pharmaceuticals from $23.00 to $14.00 and set a “market outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, StockNews.com raised shares of Ironwood Pharmaceuticals from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 13th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $8.60.

About Ironwood Pharmaceuticals

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.