Ionis Pharmaceuticals’ (IONS) “Buy” Rating Reaffirmed at HC Wainwright

HC Wainwright restated their buy rating on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:IONS) in a research note issued to investors on Thursday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a $50.00 price target on the stock.

A number of other analysts also recently issued reports on IONS. Redburn Atlantic started coverage on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals in a report on Monday, March 31st. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $39.00 price target on the stock. Needham & Company LLC cut their price objective on Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $60.00 to $55.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $45.00 to $48.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, June 12th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Ionis Pharmaceuticals to a “sell” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 18th. Finally, Guggenheim reduced their price objective on Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $65.00 to $64.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating, twelve have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $57.59.

Ionis Pharmaceuticals Price Performance

Shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals stock opened at $39.78 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $6.33 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -13.30 and a beta of 0.18. The company has a quick ratio of 9.62, a current ratio of 9.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.63. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $33.75 and its 200-day simple moving average is $32.98. Ionis Pharmaceuticals has a 52 week low of $23.95 and a 52 week high of $52.34.

Ionis Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:IONS) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The company reported ($0.93) EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of ($1.07) by $0.14. Ionis Pharmaceuticals had a negative return on equity of 91.85% and a negative net margin of 63.65%. The company had revenue of $132.00 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $144.31 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned ($0.98) EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 10.9% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts expect that Ionis Pharmaceuticals will post -3.5 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Michael R. Hayden acquired 15,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 1st. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $31.86 per share, for a total transaction of $477,900.00. Following the purchase, the director now directly owns 50,219 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,599,977.34. This trade represents a 42.59% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 2.60% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Ionis Pharmaceuticals

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Signaturefd LLC lifted its position in Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 160.0% during the fourth quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 949 shares of the company’s stock valued at $33,000 after acquiring an additional 584 shares during the last quarter. Huntington National Bank increased its position in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 193.5% during the fourth quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 951 shares of the company’s stock worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 627 shares in the last quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC increased its position in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 183.8% during the fourth quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC now owns 1,036 shares of the company’s stock worth $36,000 after purchasing an additional 671 shares in the last quarter. Ancora Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals during the 1st quarter valued at $60,000. Finally, Raiffeisen Bank International AG acquired a new stake in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals in the 4th quarter worth $62,000. 93.86% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Ionis Pharmaceuticals Company Profile

Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc discovers and develops RNA-targeted therapeutics in the United States. The company offers SPINRAZA for spinal muscular atrophy (SMA) in pediatric and adult patients; TEGSEDI, an antisense injection for the treatment of polyneuropathy caused by hereditary transthyretin amyloidosis in adults; and WAYLIVRA, an antisense medicine for treatment for familial chylomicronemia syndrome (FCS) and familial partial lipodystrophy.