Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:IONS) Given Consensus Rating of “Moderate Buy” by Brokerages

Shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:IONS) have been given a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” by the twenty-one brokerages that are presently covering the firm, MarketBeat.com reports. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, two have issued a hold recommendation, seventeen have issued a buy recommendation and one has given a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 12-month price target among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $97.35.

IONS has been the topic of several analyst reports. HC Wainwright lifted their price objective on Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $110.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 25th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals in a report on Tuesday, April 21st. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $82.00 to $100.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, January 5th. Piper Sandler boosted their price target on Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $87.00 to $100.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, February 27th. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group started coverage on Ionis Pharmaceuticals in a report on Monday, April 20th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $110.00 price target for the company.

Ionis Pharmaceuticals Price Performance

IONS stock opened at $72.23 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 3.81, a current ratio of 3.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.76. Ionis Pharmaceuticals has a 52-week low of $29.42 and a 52-week high of $86.74. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $75.80 and its two-hundred day moving average is $77.28. The company has a market capitalization of $11.93 billion, a PE ratio of -29.60 and a beta of 0.40.

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Kyle Jenne sold 4,902 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, April 16th. The stock was 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 in the company, valued at approximately $1,782,506.21. The trade was a 17.13% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Also, EVP Eugene Schneider sold 5,812 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $70.97, for a total value of $412,477.64. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 63,890 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,534,273.30. This trade represents a 8.34% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 864,155 shares of company stock worth $67,020,422. Corporate insiders own 2.71% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Ionis Pharmaceuticals

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. grew its stake in Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 72.5% during the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 652,518 shares of the company’s stock worth $19,686,000 after buying an additional 274,310 shares during the last quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC grew its stake in Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 6.4% during the 1st quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 659,435 shares of the company’s stock worth $19,895,000 after buying an additional 39,794 shares during the last quarter. Focus Partners Wealth grew its stake in Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 30.1% during the 1st quarter. Focus Partners Wealth now owns 9,832 shares of the company’s stock worth $297,000 after buying an additional 2,277 shares during the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. bought a new position in Ionis Pharmaceuticals during the 2nd quarter worth $220,000. Finally, Prudential Financial Inc. grew its stake in Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 47.8% during the 2nd quarter. Prudential Financial Inc. now owns 9,254 shares of the company’s stock worth $341,000 after buying an additional 2,991 shares during the last quarter. 93.86% of the stock is currently 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.