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

Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:IONS) has received an average rating of “Moderate Buy” from the twenty analysts that are currently covering the stock, Marketbeat Ratings reports. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, two have issued a hold recommendation, sixteen have given a buy recommendation and one has given a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 1 year price objective among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $92.8421.

Several analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Wall Street Zen cut Ionis Pharmaceuticals from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Saturday, February 28th. Barclays raised their price objective on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $95.00 to $106.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, March 26th. HC Wainwright boosted their target price on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $110.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 25th. Bank of America boosted their target price on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $86.00 to $97.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 9th. Finally, Piper Sandler raised their price target on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $87.00 to $100.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, February 27th.

Ionis Pharmaceuticals Stock Down 0.5%

Shares of IONS opened at $74.79 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.76, a quick ratio of 3.81 and a current ratio of 3.83. Ionis Pharmaceuticals has a 52 week low of $23.95 and a 52 week high of $86.74. The stock has a market capitalization of $12.35 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -30.65 and a beta of 0.40. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $78.55 and a 200-day moving average of $75.93.

Ionis Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:IONS) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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 firm had revenue of $203.33 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $156.07 million. Ionis Pharmaceuticals had a negative return on equity of 68.82% and a negative net margin of 40.36%.The company’s revenue was down 10.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned ($0.66) EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Ionis Pharmaceuticals will post -3.5 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Ionis Pharmaceuticals news, EVP Kyle Jenne sold 37,277 shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $75.85, for a total transaction of $2,827,460.45. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 11,714 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $888,506.90. The trade was a 76.09% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Brett P. Monia sold 34,103 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $75.92, for a total value of $2,589,099.76. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 242,662 shares in the company, valued at $18,422,899.04. This trade represents a 12.32% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold a total of 1,018,612 shares of company stock valued at $79,094,446 over the last quarter. 2.60% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Ionis Pharmaceuticals

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in IONS. Stanley Laman Group Ltd. acquired a new position in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $2,340,000. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA boosted its stake in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 66.1% in the 3rd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 862,593 shares of the company’s stock valued at $56,431,000 after purchasing an additional 343,409 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals during the second quarter worth $17,790,000. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. raised its stake in Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 1,669.0% during the third quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 312,297 shares of the company’s stock worth $20,430,000 after buying an additional 294,643 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Dynasty Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Ionis Pharmaceuticals during the third quarter worth $938,000. 93.86% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.