Principal Financial Group Inc. Reduces Stake in Ironwood Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:IRWD)

Principal Financial Group Inc. lessened its stake in shares of Ironwood Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:IRWD) by 7.5% during the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 735,727 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock after selling 59,598 shares during the quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in Ironwood Pharmaceuticals were worth $3,031,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank lifted its holdings in Ironwood Pharmaceuticals by 10.6% in the second quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 41,831 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $273,000 after acquiring an additional 4,016 shares during the last quarter. Rhumbline Advisers raised its position in Ironwood Pharmaceuticals by 0.7% in the second quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 365,701 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $2,384,000 after purchasing an additional 2,577 shares during the period. Victory Capital Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Ironwood Pharmaceuticals by 74.3% in the 2nd quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 222,573 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $1,451,000 after purchasing an additional 94,882 shares during the last quarter. Foundry Partners LLC grew its holdings in shares of Ironwood Pharmaceuticals by 5.7% during the 2nd quarter. Foundry Partners LLC now owns 254,177 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $1,657,000 after purchasing an additional 13,604 shares during the period. Finally, Gallacher Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of Ironwood Pharmaceuticals by 72.4% during the 2nd quarter. Gallacher Capital Management LLC now owns 29,967 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $195,000 after purchasing an additional 12,584 shares during the last quarter.

Ironwood Pharmaceuticals Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:IRWD opened at $4.51 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $721.73 million, a PE ratio of -150.33 and a beta of 0.41. Ironwood Pharmaceuticals, Inc. has a 1 year low of $3.06 and a 1 year high of $15.70. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $4.03 and its two-hundred day moving average is $4.80.

Ironwood Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:IRWD) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, November 7th. The biotechnology company reported $0.02 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.09 by ($0.07). The business had revenue of $91.60 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $91.22 million. Ironwood Pharmaceuticals had a negative return on equity of 0.96% and a negative net margin of 0.65%. Ironwood Pharmaceuticals’s quarterly revenue was down 19.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.12 earnings per share. Analysts expect that Ironwood Pharmaceuticals, Inc. will post 0.08 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have commented on the stock. Leerink Partners began coverage on shares of Ironwood Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Monday, September 9th. They issued a “market perform” rating and a $5.00 target price on the stock. Leerink Partnrs upgraded shares of Ironwood Pharmaceuticals to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, September 9th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded shares of Ironwood Pharmaceuticals from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 12th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Ironwood Pharmaceuticals has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $10.40.

Insider Activity at Ironwood Pharmaceuticals

In other Ironwood Pharmaceuticals news, CFO Sravan Kumar Emany sold 11,001 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $4.08, for a total value of $44,884.08. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 309,572 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,263,053.76. This represents a 3.43 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. 12.90% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.