HC Wainwright Issues Positive Outlook for IONS Earnings

Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:IONS) – Research analysts at HC Wainwright boosted their Q1 2026 earnings per share estimates for shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals in a research note issued to investors on Monday, March 2nd. HC Wainwright analyst M. Kapoor now anticipates that the company will earn ($0.81) per share for the quarter, up from their previous estimate of ($0.98). HC Wainwright has a “Buy” rating and a $110.00 price target on the stock. The consensus estimate for Ionis Pharmaceuticals’ current full-year earnings is ($3.50) per share. HC Wainwright also issued estimates for Ionis Pharmaceuticals’ Q2 2026 earnings at ($0.82) EPS, Q3 2026 earnings at ($0.80) EPS, Q4 2026 earnings at ($0.84) EPS and FY2026 earnings at ($3.27) EPS.

Ionis Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:IONS) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, February 25th. The company reported ($1.41) earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($1.23) by ($0.18). The business had revenue of $203.00 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $156.07 million. Ionis Pharmaceuticals had a negative net margin of 40.36% and a negative return on equity of 68.82%. Ionis Pharmaceuticals’s revenue for the quarter was down 10.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned ($0.66) EPS.

A number of other equities analysts also recently weighed in on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $82.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, January 5th. Piper Sandler lifted 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. Morgan Stanley set a $95.00 price target on Ionis Pharmaceuticals and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 25th. Barclays assumed coverage on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals in a report on Wednesday, January 28th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $95.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals in a report on Wednesday, February 25th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have issued a Buy rating, three have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Ionis Pharmaceuticals currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $89.00.

Ionis Pharmaceuticals Stock Up 1.0%

Ionis Pharmaceuticals stock opened at $79.45 on Wednesday. Ionis Pharmaceuticals has a twelve month low of $23.95 and a twelve month high of $86.74. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.76, a quick ratio of 3.81 and a current ratio of 3.83. The firm has a market cap of $13.12 billion, a PE ratio of -32.56 and a beta of 0.31. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $81.29 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $72.89.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Ionis Pharmaceuticals

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in IONS. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. raised its position in Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 72.5% in the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 652,518 shares of the company’s stock valued at $19,686,000 after purchasing an additional 274,310 shares during the last quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC increased its stake in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 6.4% in 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 valued at $19,895,000 after buying an additional 39,794 shares during the period. Focus Partners Wealth raised its position in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 30.1% during the first quarter. Focus Partners Wealth now owns 9,832 shares of the company’s stock worth $297,000 after acquiring an additional 2,277 shares during the last quarter. Atria Investments Inc acquired a new position in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals during the second quarter valued at $323,000. Finally, Amalgamated Bank lifted its stake in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 9.0% during the second quarter. Amalgamated Bank now owns 11,526 shares of the company’s stock valued at $455,000 after acquiring an additional 953 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 93.86% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Ionis Pharmaceuticals

In other news, EVP Eric Swayze sold 23,463 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $79.12, for a total value of $1,856,392.56. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 30,453 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,409,441.36. This represents a 43.52% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Shannon L. Devers sold 44,199 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, January 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $85.08, for a total value of $3,760,450.92. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 17,494 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,488,389.52. This represents a 71.64% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 436,579 shares of company stock worth $35,367,233. Insiders own 2.60% of the company’s stock.

Ionis Pharmaceuticals Company Profile

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.