Ionis Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:IONS) Price Target Lowered to $45.00 at BMO Capital Markets

Ionis Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:IONS - Get Free Report) had its price objective decreased by investment analysts at BMO Capital Markets from $60.00 to $45.00 in a research report issued on Thursday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a "market perform" rating on the stock. BMO Capital Markets' price objective suggests a potential upside of 39.20% from the stock's current price.

A number of other research analysts have also commented on the company. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an "outperform" rating and set a $70.00 price target on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals in a report on Wednesday, January 15th. William Blair reissued an "outperform" rating on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals in a report on Friday, December 20th. Piper Sandler lowered their price target on Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $65.00 to $62.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, November 14th. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $60.00 target price on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals in a report on Thursday. Finally, StockNews.com lowered Ionis Pharmaceuticals from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Tuesday, November 12th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating, thirteen have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $60.00.

Ionis Pharmaceuticals Stock Performance

NASDAQ IONS traded down $0.36 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $32.33. The company had a trading volume of 1,569,929 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,689,898. Ionis Pharmaceuticals has a fifty-two week low of $30.23 and a fifty-two week high of $52.34. The company has a quick ratio of 8.82, a current ratio of 8.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.86. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $33.65 and a 200-day simple moving average of $38.36. The firm has a market cap of $5.10 billion, a P/E ratio of -10.63 and a beta of 0.34.

Ionis Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:IONS - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 19th. The company reported ($0.66) EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of ($1.12) by $0.46. The company had revenue of $227.00 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $140.97 million. Ionis Pharmaceuticals had a negative return on equity of 111.15% and a negative net margin of 64.25%. The company's quarterly revenue was down 30.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.12 earnings per share. Equities analysts predict that Ionis Pharmaceuticals will post -3.5 EPS for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Ionis Pharmaceuticals news, Director Michael R. Hayden acquired 5,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Monday, December 23rd. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $36.22 per share, for a total transaction of $181,100.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 35,219 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,275,632.18. The trade was a 16.55 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Eric Swayze sold 1,367 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $32.31, for a total value of $44,167.77. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 48,017 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,551,429.27. The trade was a 2.77 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 110,609 shares of company stock worth $3,564,867. 2.71% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Ionis Pharmaceuticals

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in IONS. Creative Planning raised its stake in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 5.7% during the 3rd quarter. Creative Planning now owns 28,382 shares of the company's stock worth $1,137,000 after purchasing an additional 1,522 shares in the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 3,287.0% during the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 328,772 shares of the company's stock worth $13,171,000 after purchasing an additional 319,065 shares in the last quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. raised its stake in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 21.3% during the 3rd quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 5,288 shares of the company's stock worth $216,000 after purchasing an additional 930 shares in the last quarter. abrdn plc raised its stake in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 22.8% during the 3rd quarter. abrdn plc now owns 303,274 shares of the company's stock worth $12,064,000 after purchasing an additional 56,357 shares in the last quarter. Finally, China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. raised its stake in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 64.0% during the 3rd quarter. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 28,121 shares of the company's stock worth $1,127,000 after purchasing an additional 10,971 shares in the last quarter. 93.86% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Ionis Pharmaceuticals Company Profile

Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc discovers and develops RNA-targeted therapeutics in the United States. The company offers SPINRAZA for spinal muscular atrophy (SMA) in pediatric and adult patients; TEGSEDI, an antisense injection for the treatment of polyneuropathy caused by hereditary transthyretin amyloidosis in adults; and WAYLIVRA, an antisense medicine for treatment for familial chylomicronemia syndrome (FCS) and familial partial lipodystrophy.