TD Cowen Lowers Ionis Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:IONS) Price Target to $108.00

Ionis Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:IONS) had its price objective cut by equities researchers at TD Cowen from $110.00 to $108.00 in a report issued on Thursday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a “buy” rating on the stock. TD Cowen’s price objective would suggest a potential upside of 47.40% from the stock’s current price.

Several other equities analysts have also weighed in on the stock. Bank of America upped their price objective on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $100.00 to $111.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, April 9th. Raymond James Financial began coverage on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals in a report on Friday, April 10th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $104.00 target price on the stock. Barclays upped their target price on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $95.00 to $106.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, March 26th. Leerink Partners upped their target price on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $102.00 to $104.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 3rd. Finally, Needham & Company LLC upped their target price on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $103.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 25th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seventeen have issued a Buy rating, two have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Ionis Pharmaceuticals presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $97.35.

Ionis Pharmaceuticals Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ IONS opened at $73.27 on Thursday. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $75.97 and its 200-day moving average price is $77.16. Ionis Pharmaceuticals has a 1-year low of $28.87 and a 1-year high of $86.74. The firm has a market capitalization of $12.10 billion, a P/E ratio of -30.03 and a beta of 0.40. The company has a current ratio of 3.83, a quick ratio of 3.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.76.

Ionis Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:IONS) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 25th. The company reported ($1.41) earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($1.23) by ($0.18). Ionis Pharmaceuticals had a negative net margin of 40.36% and a negative return on equity of 68.82%. The company had revenue of $203.33 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $156.07 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted ($0.66) EPS. Ionis Pharmaceuticals’s revenue for the quarter was down 10.6% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts anticipate that Ionis Pharmaceuticals will post -4.14 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Ionis Pharmaceuticals news, EVP Kyle Jenne sold 4,902 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $75.17, for a total value of $368,483.34. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 23,713 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,782,506.21. This represents a 17.13% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Also, EVP Brian Birchler sold 973 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $75.04, for a total transaction of $73,013.92. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 67,500 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,065,200. The trade was a 1.42% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Insiders have sold a total of 864,155 shares of company stock worth $67,020,422 over the last ninety days. Insiders own 2.60% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Ionis Pharmaceuticals

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Stanley Laman Group Ltd. bought a new position in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $2,340,000. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA grew its position in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 66.1% during the 3rd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 862,593 shares of the company’s stock valued at $56,431,000 after acquiring an additional 343,409 shares during the period. Dynasty Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $938,000. Capricorn Fund Managers Ltd bought a new position in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $10,650,000. Finally, Jain Global LLC grew its position in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 3,037.4% during the 3rd quarter. Jain Global LLC now owns 225,739 shares of the company’s stock valued at $14,768,000 after acquiring an additional 218,544 shares during the period. 93.86% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

About Ionis Pharmaceuticals

Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc is a biotechnology company focused on the discovery and development of RNA-targeted therapies designed to modulate gene expression. The company’s proprietary antisense oligonucleotide (ASO) technology enables the selective binding of short synthetic strands of nucleic acids to messenger RNA (mRNA), thereby inhibiting or altering the production of disease-causing proteins. Ionis’ pipeline spans a range of therapeutic areas, including neurological disorders, cardiovascular conditions, metabolic diseases and rare genetic disorders.

Since its founding in 1989 by Dr.