Ironwood Pharmaceuticals
IRWD on Nasdaq. Ironwood Pharmaceuticals sells medicines for stomach and bowel diseases to patients and doctors. Market value $603m.
Price checks use the past 12 months to June 2026. Some use the latest annual report instead, as marked. Quality checks use five annual reports, the latest for the year to December 2025.
We can't read total debt from the filing, so debt is left out.
Should I look at this?
Not a fit for our list right now
Why it could be worth it
See Health care stocks that passed both tests
This is not advice. Check the numbers below.
For every $100 of what the whole company costs, it produced $21.17 of spare cash last year. A savings account pays about $4.
The filings do not give us enough to work this out.
The filings do not give us enough to work this out.
Quality score: 50 of 100. Price score: 83 of 100. Our list needs 70 on quality and 60 on price.
$3.63 a share, 157% above its 1-year low
Over the past year the price has ranged from $1.41 to $5.78.
Pays no dividend
Prices from Tuesday’s close (6 October).
Five years of cash, in billions
| Revenue | |||||
| Revenue | $414m | $411m | $443m | $351m | $296m |
| Operating margin | |||||
| Operating margin | 56.1% | 61.0% | -213.5% | 26.5% | 33.3% |
| Debt to equity | |||||
| Debt to equity | 0.75 | 0.61 | n/a | n/a | n/a |
| Shares outstanding | |||||
| Shares outstanding | 0.15bn | 0.16bn | 0.16bn | 0.16bn | 0.17bn |
Health checks
- Free cash flow positive5 of 5 years
- Accounting looks honest (Beneish)Not enough data
- Financial strength (Piotroski)4 of 7 checks we could run
- Profit backed by cash (accruals)No
- DebtUnknown
- Revenue growth, five yearsShrinking, 5.3% a year
- Buying back its own sharesNo, 8% more shares since 2021
The quarter to June 2026
How the business did, compared with the same quarter a year earlier.
- Sales: $113 million last quarter, up 33% on a year ago.
- Profit: $51 million, up 117% on a year ago.
- It keeps 60 cents of each $1 of sales as operating profit, up from 24 cents a year earlier.
- 5% fewer shares than a year ago. Each share owns a bit more of the company.
- Sales grew on a year ago in 3 of the last 4 quarters.
| Quarter to | Amount |
|---|---|
| September 2024 | $92m |
| December 2024 | $91m |
| March 2025 | $41m |
| June 2025 | $85m |
| September 2025 | $122m |
| December 2025 | $48m |
| March 2026 | $107m |
| June 2026 | $113m |
| Quarter to | Amount |
|---|---|
| September 2024 | $4m |
| December 2024 | $2m |
| March 2025 | -$37m |
| June 2025 | $24m |
| September 2025 | $40m |
| December 2025 | -$2m |
| March 2026 | $41m |
| June 2026 | $51m |
From the company's quarterly reports to the SEC.
Dates
- Next results (estimated)
- n/a
- Last annual report (10-K)
- 26 February 2026
- Next quarterly (estimated, 10-Q)
- 5 November 2026
Who owns it
3 long-term investors we follow own it, unchanged from 3 last quarter. 212 funds in all.
- Sarissa CapitalAlex Denner
- Value
- $39m
- Share of fund
- 21.7%
- LSV Asset ManagementJosef Lakonishok
- Value
- $1m
- Share of fund
- <0.1%
| Fund | Value | Share of that fund | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sarissa CapitalAlex Denner | $39m | 21.7% | |
| LSV Asset ManagementJosef Lakonishok | $1m | <0.1% | |
| Royce & AssociatesChuck Royce | $78,108 | <0.1% | New |
Sold out this quarter
Largest holders overall
- BlackRock$75mAdded
- Armistice Capital$59mCut
- Sarissa Capital$39m
- State Street$37mAdded
- Bank of America$37m
- Renaissance Technologies$34m
- Vanguard Capital Management$28mAdded
- AQR Capital Management$27mCut
- Acadian Asset Management$25mCut
- Vanguard Portfolio Management$23mCut
From 13F filings for the quarter ended 30 June 2026.
Big holders and activists
6 investors own more than 5%; 1 of them is pushing for change.
- Armistice Capital, LLCPassive investorat least 8.4%−0.8 pts(filed with 1 related holder)Since 30 June 2026
- BlackRock, Inc.Passive investor8.1%+1.0 ptsSince 30 June 2026
- BANK OF AMERICA CORP /DE/Passive investor6.1%−1.3 ptsSince 31 March 2026
- Alexander J. DennerActivistat least 5.8%(filed with 1 related holder)Since 17 March 2026
- STATE STREET CORPORATIONPassive investor5.4%+3.2 ptsSince 30 June 2026
- Renaissance Technologies LLCPassive investorat least 4.9%(filed with 1 related holder)Since 31 March 2026
- Barclays PLCPassive investorSold down below 5%Since 30 September 2025
- Pacer Advisors, Inc.Passive investorSold down below 5%Since 31 March 2025
- The Vanguard GroupPassive investorSold down below 5%Since 13 March 2026
| Holder | Stake | Since | |
|---|---|---|---|
Armistice Capital, LLC Passive investor | at least 8.4%−0.8 pts (filed with 1 related holder) | 30 June 2026 | |
BlackRock, Inc. Passive investor | 8.1%+1.0 pts | 30 June 2026 | |
BANK OF AMERICA CORP /DE/ Passive investor | 6.1%−1.3 pts | 31 March 2026 | |
Alexander J. Denner Activist | at least 5.8% (filed with 1 related holder) | 17 March 2026 | |
STATE STREET CORPORATION Passive investor | 5.4%+3.2 pts | 30 June 2026 | |
Renaissance Technologies LLC Passive investor | at least 4.9% (filed with 1 related holder) | 31 March 2026 | |
Barclays PLC Passive investor | Sold down below 5% | 30 September 2025 | |
Pacer Advisors, Inc. Passive investor | Sold down below 5% | 31 March 2025 | |
The Vanguard Group Passive investor | Sold down below 5% | 13 March 2026 |
From Schedule 13D and 13G filings: anyone owning more than 5% must file one.
What insiders did
No insider bought shares on the open market in the last 12 months. 8 sold $23m, $821,436 of it under preset trading plans.
- Silver RonaldPFO & PAOSoldunder a preset trading plan
- Date
- 7 July 2026
- Shares
- 127,890
- Price
- $4.52
- Value
- $578,063
- McHugh JulieDirectorSoldunder a preset trading plan
- Date
- 16 June 2026
- Shares
- 21,571
- Price
- $3.73
- Value
- $80,460
- DENNER ALEXANDER JDirectorSold
- Date
- 17 March 2026
- Shares
- 6,730,800
- Price
- $3.05
- Value
- $21m
- Martini Gregory S.Chief Financial OfficerSold
- Date
- 24 February 2026
- Shares
- 11,457
- Price
- $3.66
- Value
- $41,933
- John MinardoChief Legal OfficerSold
- Date
- 24 February 2026
- Shares
- 19,053
- Price
- $3.66
- Value
- $69,734
- Gaskins Tammi LChief Commercial OfficerSold
- Date
- 24 February 2026
- Shares
- 11,239
- Price
- $3.66
- Value
- $41,135
- MCCOURT Thomas AChief Executive Officer, DirectorSold
- Date
- 24 February 2026
- Shares
- 103,526
- Price
- $3.66
- Value
- $378,905
- Silver RonaldPrincipal Accounting OfficerSold
- Date
- 24 February 2026
- Shares
- 12,621
- Price
- $3.66
- Value
- $46,193
- Martini Gregory S.Chief Financial OfficerSold
- Date
- 23 February 2026
- Shares
- 10,487
- Price
- $3.81
- Value
- $39,955
- John MinardoChief Legal OfficerSold
- Date
- 23 February 2026
- Shares
- 17,439
- Price
- $3.81
- Value
- $66,443
| Date | Who | Did | Shares | Price | Value |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 7 July 2026 | Silver Ronald PFO & PAO | Sold under a preset trading plan | 127,890 | $4.52 | $578,063 |
| 16 June 2026 | McHugh Julie Director | Sold under a preset trading plan | 21,571 | $3.73 | $80,460 |
| 17 March 2026 | DENNER ALEXANDER J Director | Sold | 6,730,800 | $3.05 | $21m |
| 24 February 2026 | Martini Gregory S. Chief Financial Officer | Sold | 11,457 | $3.66 | $41,933 |
| 24 February 2026 | John Minardo Chief Legal Officer | Sold | 19,053 | $3.66 | $69,734 |
| 24 February 2026 | Gaskins Tammi L Chief Commercial Officer | Sold | 11,239 | $3.66 | $41,135 |
| 24 February 2026 | MCCOURT Thomas A Chief Executive Officer, Director | Sold | 103,526 | $3.66 | $378,905 |
| 24 February 2026 | Silver Ronald Principal Accounting Officer | Sold | 12,621 | $3.66 | $46,193 |
| 23 February 2026 | Martini Gregory S. Chief Financial Officer | Sold | 10,487 | $3.81 | $39,955 |
| 23 February 2026 | John Minardo Chief Legal Officer | Sold | 17,439 | $3.81 | $66,443 |
From Form 4 filings: insiders must report trades in their own company's shares within two days.
Warning signs in its filings
Problems the company itself reported to the SEC, in its own words.
None of the serious warning signs we check for were found. 1 thing worth knowing.
We look for five warning signs: doubt it can keep going, weak checks on its own accounts, a notice that its past accounts can't be relied on, a change of auditor, and one customer bringing in a big share of sales. We don't check lawsuits, investigations or debt yet.
We checked the auditor's report, internal controls, restatement notices, auditor changes and big customers in the 10-K filed 26 Feb 2026, plus the 10-Q filed 6 Aug 2026 and 6 later 8-Ks.
Changed auditor
Worth knowingThe company changed its auditor (the firm that checks its books) in the last two years.
“On July 3, 2025, the Audit Committee (the “Audit Committee”) of the Board of Directors of Ironwood Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (the “Company”) dismissed Ernst & Young LLP (“EY”) as the Company’s independent registered public accounting firm.”
From an 8-K filed 10 July 2025: Change of auditor. Read it in the filing
A 10-K is the yearly report every US company files with the SEC. An 8-K is a short notice of a big event.
What could go wrong
- Sales have shrunk: 5.3% a year.
- It owes more than it owns on paper (negative equity). Often that's from borrowing to buy back shares.
Whether the price already reflects the risks is what the deep dive is for.
The deep dive
Everything above is arithmetic on public filings. The deep dive reads the last ten years of annual reports, the proxy statements, and the earnings calls, then argues the case the way Buffett, Klarman, and Hohn would, and checks every claim against the source.
- What the business is worth, as a range, and the margin of safety at today’s price
- Prices to start buying, buy, and buy hard
- The three things that would make this a mistake
- Every number footnoted to the filing it came from
Your first deep dive is free.
Not advice. Numbers on this page come from SEC filings and are updated each night; prices are updated again after the US market closes. The five-year figures are rounded.