Ionis Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:IONS) Reaches New 1-Year High on Strong Earnings

Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:IONS)’s share price hit a new 52-week high on Thursday after the company announced better than expected quarterly earnings. The company traded as high as $74.70 and last traded at $74.5230, with a volume of 1220358 shares. The stock had previously closed at $71.88.

The company reported ($0.80) earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of ($1.15) by $0.35. Ionis Pharmaceuticals had a negative return on equity of 45.29% and a negative net margin of 26.45%.The company had revenue of $157.00 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $131.75 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted ($0.95) earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 17.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Ionis Pharmaceuticals has set its FY 2025 guidance at EPS.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on IONS shares. TD Cowen boosted their price target on Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $59.00 to $99.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday. Wall Street Zen raised Ionis Pharmaceuticals from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, August 16th. HC Wainwright upped their target price on Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $95.00 to $100.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday. Royal Bank Of Canada upped their target price on Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $80.00 to $82.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday. Finally, Raymond James Financial reiterated a “strong-buy” rating and issued a $89.00 target price (up from $85.00) on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Thursday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seventeen have issued a Buy rating, three have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $83.05.

Insider Activity

In other Ionis Pharmaceuticals news, EVP Brian Birchler sold 12,425 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, October 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $72.23, for a total transaction of $897,457.75. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 56,826 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,104,541.98. The trade was a 17.94% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Patrick R. O’neil sold 13,441 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, October 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $69.74, for a total value of $937,375.34. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 53,889 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,758,218.86. This trade represents a 19.96% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold 787,770 shares of company stock valued at $48,429,221 in the last 90 days. 2.60% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Ionis Pharmaceuticals

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in IONS. Teacher Retirement System of Texas grew its position in Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 660.7% during the first quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas now owns 500,451 shares of the company’s stock valued at $15,099,000 after acquiring an additional 434,659 shares during the period. GF Fund Management CO. LTD. grew its stake in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 21.9% in the first quarter. GF Fund Management CO. LTD. now owns 4,042 shares of the company’s stock valued at $122,000 after buying an additional 727 shares in the last quarter. Significant Wealth Partners LLC grew its stake in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 24.8% in the first quarter. Significant Wealth Partners LLC now owns 13,605 shares of the company’s stock valued at $410,000 after buying an additional 2,700 shares in the last quarter. Xponance Inc. grew its stake in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 5.1% in the first quarter. Xponance Inc. now owns 20,319 shares of the company’s stock valued at $613,000 after buying an additional 980 shares in the last quarter. Finally, CWM LLC grew its stake in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 18.7% in the first quarter. CWM LLC now owns 2,435 shares of the company’s stock valued at $73,000 after buying an additional 384 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.86% of the company’s stock.

Ionis Pharmaceuticals Trading Up 3.2%

The company has a quick ratio of 2.86, a current ratio of 2.87 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.99. The firm has a market cap of $11.82 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -43.89 and a beta of 0.33. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $63.34 and a 200-day moving average price of $46.21.

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.