Ionis Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:IONS) Downgraded by Wall Street Zen to Sell

Ionis Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:IONS) was downgraded by stock analysts at Wall Street Zen from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note issued to investors on Saturday.

A number of other brokerages also recently weighed in on IONS. HC Wainwright boosted their price target on Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $100.00 to $110.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, November 10th. Barclays initiated coverage on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Wednesday, January 28th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $95.00 target price for the company. Weiss Ratings restated a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Thursday, January 22nd. TD Cowen reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals in a report on Wednesday, December 3rd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $82.00 to $100.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, January 5th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have issued a Buy rating, three have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Ionis Pharmaceuticals has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $88.80.

Ionis Pharmaceuticals Stock Performance

Ionis Pharmaceuticals stock opened at $81.15 on Friday. Ionis Pharmaceuticals has a 12-month low of $23.95 and a 12-month high of $86.74. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.96, a current ratio of 2.79 and a quick ratio of 2.78. The company has a market capitalization of $13.14 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -33.26 and a beta of 0.29. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $81.33 and its 200 day moving average price is $71.91.

Ionis Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:IONS) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, February 25th. 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 net margin of 40.36% and a negative return on equity of 66.25%. The business had revenue of $203.00 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $156.07 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned ($0.66) earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 10.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts forecast that Ionis Pharmaceuticals will post -3.5 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO Brett P. Monia sold 29,430 shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $85.79, for a total transaction of $2,524,799.70. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 254,497 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $21,833,297.63. The trade was a 10.37% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Eugene Schneider sold 6,179 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $83.45, for a total value of $515,637.55. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 69,702 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,816,631.90. This trade represents a 8.14% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold 464,579 shares of company stock valued at $37,630,193 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 2.60% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Axxcess Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Ionis Pharmaceuticals in the fourth quarter worth about $228,000. Corient Private Wealth LLC lifted its stake in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 3,161.5% in the 4th quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC now owns 214,936 shares of the company’s stock worth $17,004,000 after acquiring an additional 208,346 shares during the period. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV boosted its holdings in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 48.2% in the fourth quarter. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV now owns 5,554 shares of the company’s stock valued at $439,000 after acquiring an additional 1,807 shares in the last quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp boosted its holdings in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 8.4% in the fourth quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 3,891 shares of the company’s stock valued at $307,000 after acquiring an additional 303 shares in the last quarter. Finally, ADAR1 Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 9.9% during the fourth quarter. ADAR1 Capital Management LLC now owns 147,130 shares of the company’s stock valued at $11,639,000 after acquiring an additional 13,312 shares during the period. 93.86% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Ionis Pharmaceuticals News Summary

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

• Positive Sentiment: Piper Sandler raised its price target to $100 and moved to an “overweight” rating, signaling ~23% upside from current levels — a clear buy-side endorsement. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Needham lifted its price target to $103 from $90, another analyst upgrade supporting the rally and reflecting greater confidence in revenue trajectory. Needham Lifts PT on Ionis Pharmaceuticals (IONS) to $103 From $90
• Positive Sentiment: Updates to Tryngolza outlook are materially positive: recent analysis lifts peak revenue estimates (several sources cite >$2B for Tryngolza and company-level peak revenue/royalty/milestone potential in the multi‑billion range), and management guides to cash-flow breakeven by 2028 — bullish for long-term value. Ionis Pharmaceuticals: Digesting Recent Events
• Neutral Sentiment: Company presented at Oppenheimer’s healthcare conference; slides/transcript provide additional visibility into pipeline progress and commercialization strategy but are informational rather than catalytic. IONS Presents at Oppenheimer Conference Transcript
• Neutral Sentiment: General earnings call coverage/recaps are available for detail on management commentary and guidance; useful for modeling but not single-handedly market-moving. Q4 2025 Earnings Call Summary
• Negative Sentiment: Q4 results were mixed: revenue and Tryngolza sales beat expectations, but EPS missed estimates and management gave a softer 2026 outlook, which pressured the stock in after-hours/early trade. Ionis Q4 Earnings & Sales Beat, Stock Down on Soft 2026 Outlook
• Negative Sentiment: Coverage noted the EPS miss led to a gap-down reaction in some sessions; near-term uptake for new drugs and the FY2026 revenue cadence remain the main risk factors to watch. Shares Gap Down on Disappointing Earnings
• Negative Sentiment: Stifel raised its target modestly to $77 but kept a “hold” rating — the lower relative PT signals at least one shop sees limited near-term upside. Article Title

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.