Louisiana State Employees Retirement System Purchases Shares of 68,700 Ironwood Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:IRWD)

Louisiana State Employees Retirement System purchased a new stake in shares of Ironwood Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:IRWD) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 68,700 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock, valued at approximately $786,000.

A number of other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. raised its holdings in shares of Ironwood Pharmaceuticals by 96.3% during the third quarter. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 3,997 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $38,000 after purchasing an additional 1,961 shares during the period. Headlands Technologies LLC raised its holdings in shares of Ironwood Pharmaceuticals by 396.5% during the third quarter. Headlands Technologies LLC now owns 6,737 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $65,000 after purchasing an additional 5,380 shares during the period. Mackenzie Financial Corp raised its holdings in shares of Ironwood Pharmaceuticals by 21.5% during the third quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 12,713 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $123,000 after purchasing an additional 2,253 shares during the period. Aigen Investment Management LP acquired a new position in shares of Ironwood Pharmaceuticals during the third quarter valued at about $129,000. Finally, Xponance Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Ironwood Pharmaceuticals during the third quarter valued at about $144,000.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Jon R. Duane acquired 6,920 shares of Ironwood Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 6th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $8.70 per share, with a total value of $60,204.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 121,028 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,052,943.60. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In other news, Director Jon R. Duane acquired 6,920 shares of Ironwood Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 6th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $8.70 per share, with a total value of $60,204.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 121,028 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,052,943.60. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CFO Sravan Kumar Emany acquired 10,684 shares of Ironwood Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction on Monday, March 4th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $9.38 per share, with a total value of $100,215.92. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 301,733 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,830,255.54. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 273,008 shares of company stock valued at $4,160,642. Corporate insiders own 13.10% of the company’s stock.

Ironwood Pharmaceuticals Stock Performance

Shares of IRWD stock opened at $7.82 on Friday. Ironwood Pharmaceuticals, Inc. has a 52-week low of $7.53 and a 52-week high of $15.70. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $9.50 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $10.65. The company has a market capitalization of $1.22 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -1.20 and a beta of 0.55.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on IRWD. StockNews.com lowered shares of Ironwood Pharmaceuticals from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, April 6th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on shares of Ironwood Pharmaceuticals from $20.00 to $14.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, March 1st. Piper Sandler upped their target price on shares of Ironwood Pharmaceuticals from $20.00 to $21.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, February 16th. Finally, Craig Hallum began coverage on shares of Ironwood Pharmaceuticals in a report on Wednesday, January 17th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $21.00 target price on the stock. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $19.80.

Ironwood Pharmaceuticals 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.