Royal Bank Of Canada Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation for Ionis Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:IONS) Stock

Ionis Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:IONS) had its target price raised by investment analysts at Royal Bank Of Canada from $80.00 to $82.00 in a research report issued to clients and investors on Thursday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has an “outperform” rating on the stock. Royal Bank Of Canada’s target price suggests a potential upside of 10.36% from the stock’s previous close.

Several other analysts have also weighed in on the company. Guggenheim lifted their price objective on Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $90.00 to $92.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, September 23rd. Piper Sandler lifted their price objective on Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $62.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, August 22nd. Cowen reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals in a report on Thursday. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $86.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, October 16th. Finally, Oppenheimer lifted their price objective on Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $84.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seventeen have given a Buy rating, three have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Ionis Pharmaceuticals has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $83.05.

Ionis Pharmaceuticals Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ IONS opened at $74.30 on Thursday. 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 business’s 50 day moving average is $63.97 and its two-hundred day moving average is $46.53. The company has a market cap of $11.84 billion, a P/E ratio of -43.96 and a beta of 0.33. Ionis Pharmaceuticals has a 12 month low of $23.95 and a 12 month high of $75.49.

Ionis Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:IONS) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 29th. The company reported ($0.80) EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($1.15) by $0.35. The company had revenue of $157.00 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $131.75 million. Ionis Pharmaceuticals had a negative return on equity of 45.29% and a negative net margin of 26.45%.The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 17.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted ($0.95) EPS. Ionis Pharmaceuticals has set its FY 2025 guidance at EPS. On average, equities analysts expect that Ionis Pharmaceuticals will post -3.5 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity at Ionis Pharmaceuticals

In other news, EVP Shannon L. Devers sold 1,263 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, October 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $73.62, for a total transaction of $92,982.06. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 17,494 shares in the company, valued at $1,287,908.28. The trade was a 6.73% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, Director B Lynne Parshall sold 5,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, October 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $71.74, for a total value of $358,700.00. Following the sale, the director owned 61,344 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,400,818.56. The trade was a 7.54% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold a total of 787,770 shares of company stock valued at $48,429,221 over the last quarter. 2.60% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Ionis Pharmaceuticals

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. CIBC Asset Management Inc bought a new stake in Ionis Pharmaceuticals in the third quarter valued at about $301,000. Grandfield & Dodd LLC grew its stake in Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 1.2% in the third quarter. Grandfield & Dodd LLC now owns 37,675 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,465,000 after acquiring an additional 445 shares during the period. Dynasty Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Ionis Pharmaceuticals in the third quarter valued at about $938,000. Root Financial Partners LLC acquired a new position in Ionis Pharmaceuticals in the third quarter valued at about $88,000. Finally, Amalgamated Bank grew its stake in Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 5.8% in the third quarter. Amalgamated Bank now owns 12,195 shares of the company’s stock valued at $798,000 after acquiring an additional 669 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 93.86% of the company’s stock.

About Ionis Pharmaceuticals

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.