Ionis Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:IONS) Shares Gap Down Following Weak Earnings

Shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:IONS) gapped down before the market opened on Wednesday following a weaker than expected earnings announcement. The stock had previously closed at $85.45, but opened at $81.75. Ionis Pharmaceuticals shares last traded at $82.6850, with a volume of 514,674 shares traded.

The company reported ($1.41) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($1.23) by ($0.18). Ionis Pharmaceuticals had a negative return on equity of 44.26% and a negative net margin of 26.45%.The firm had revenue of $203.00 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $156.07 million. During the same quarter last year, the business earned ($0.66) EPS. The business’s revenue was down 10.6% on a year-over-year basis.

Key Stories Impacting Ionis Pharmaceuticals

Here are the key news stories impacting Ionis Pharmaceuticals this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Q4 revenue beat expectations — Ionis reported roughly $203M in revenue, above consensus estimates, driven in part by growth from its lead drug program. View Press Release
• Positive Sentiment: Adjusted loss per share came in better than some Street estimates (reports show adjusted losses ~-$1.14 to -$1.15 vs larger consensus estimates), a sign the quarter was not as weak as feared. Zacks: Q4 Loss Tops Revenue Estimates
• Neutral Sentiment: Earnings materials and call transcript are available for deeper review (slide deck, press release, and full call transcript), useful for investors wanting detail on product cadence and expense drivers. Earnings Call Transcript
• Negative Sentiment: FY‑2026 revenue guidance was set to $800M–$825M, well below the Street estimate (~$895.6M), creating a major near‑term headwind and likely the primary reason for the stock decline. Benzinga: Guides Below 2026 Sales Views
• Negative Sentiment: Company-level profitability remains negative: net margin and ROE are still below zero and revenue is down year‑over‑year (~10.6%), underscoring ongoing P&L pressure despite product progress. MarketBeat: Q4 Results & Metrics

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages recently commented on IONS. Piper Sandler upped their target price on Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $77.00 to $87.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, February 6th. Barclays started coverage on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals in a report on Wednesday, January 28th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $95.00 price objective on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $82.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, January 5th. HC Wainwright boosted their target price on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $100.00 to $110.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, November 10th. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded Ionis Pharmaceuticals from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, November 1st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have given a Buy rating, three have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $87.65.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP C Frank Bennett sold 85,089 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $82.93, for a total transaction of $7,056,430.77. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 80,293 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,658,698.49. This represents a 51.45% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Brett P. Monia sold 29,430 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $85.79, for a total value of $2,524,799.70. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 254,497 shares in the company, valued at $21,833,297.63. This trade represents a 10.37% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold a total of 464,579 shares of company stock valued at $37,630,193 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 2.60% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Ionis Pharmaceuticals

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of IONS. Capital World Investors lifted its position in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 41.2% during the 4th quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 17,961,299 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,420,918,000 after buying an additional 5,238,571 shares in the last quarter. Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. raised its position in Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 253.3% during the second quarter. Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. now owns 3,800,000 shares of the company’s stock worth $150,138,000 after acquiring an additional 2,724,400 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. raised its position in Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 19,941.6% during the fourth quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 1,321,345 shares of the company’s stock worth $104,532,000 after acquiring an additional 1,314,752 shares during the period. Baker BROS. Advisors LP lifted its holdings in Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 216.1% during the fourth quarter. Baker BROS. Advisors LP now owns 1,791,841 shares of the company’s stock valued at $141,753,000 after purchasing an additional 1,225,043 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Marshall Wace LLP grew its position in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 7,219.3% in the third quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 958,829 shares of the company’s stock valued at $62,727,000 after purchasing an additional 945,729 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.86% of the company’s stock.

Ionis Pharmaceuticals Trading Down 5.3%

The firm has a market cap of $13.11 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -47.89 and a beta of 0.29. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $81.24 and its 200-day moving average price is $71.56. The company has a quick ratio of 2.78, a current ratio of 2.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.96.

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.