Ionis Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:IONS) Receives Buy Rating from Guggenheim

Guggenheim reissued their buy rating on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:IONS - Free Report) in a report released on Thursday,Benzinga reports.

Several other research analysts also recently commented on IONS. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $60.00 price objective on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals in a report on Thursday, February 20th. StockNews.com raised Ionis Pharmaceuticals to a "sell" rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 18th. BMO Capital Markets lowered their price objective on Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $60.00 to $45.00 and set a "market perform" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, February 20th. Redburn Atlantic started coverage on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals in a report on Monday, March 31st. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $39.00 target price on the stock. Finally, William Blair reiterated an "outperform" rating on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals in a report on Friday, December 20th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating, fourteen have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Ionis Pharmaceuticals presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $57.70.

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Ionis Pharmaceuticals Price Performance

IONS traded down $1.74 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $25.83. The stock had a trading volume of 655,745 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,476,269. The company has a market cap of $4.11 billion, a P/E ratio of -8.52 and a beta of 0.29. Ionis Pharmaceuticals has a 1 year low of $25.52 and a 1 year high of $52.34. The business has a fifty day moving average of $31.92 and a 200 day moving average of $35.13. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.12, a quick ratio of 8.82 and a current ratio of 8.47.

Ionis Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:IONS - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 19th. The company reported ($0.66) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of ($1.12) by $0.46. The company had revenue of $227.00 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $140.97 million. Ionis Pharmaceuticals had a negative net margin of 64.25% and a negative return on equity of 100.05%. The firm's revenue was down 30.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.12 EPS. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Ionis Pharmaceuticals will post -3.5 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Ionis Pharmaceuticals

In related news, CEO Brett P. Monia sold 33,445 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $32.63, for a total value of $1,091,310.35. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 207,396 shares in the company, valued at $6,767,331.48. The trade was a 13.89 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Patrick R. O'neil sold 1,207 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $32.35, for a total transaction of $39,046.45. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 56,245 shares in the company, valued at $1,819,525.75. This trade represents a 2.10 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 111,956 shares of company stock worth $3,608,439. 2.71% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Ionis Pharmaceuticals

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in IONS. Signaturefd LLC increased its holdings in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 160.0% in the 4th quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 949 shares of the company's stock worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 584 shares in the last quarter. Huntington National Bank raised its position in Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 193.5% in the 4th quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 951 shares of the company's stock worth $33,000 after buying an additional 627 shares during the last quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC raised its position in Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 183.8% in the 4th quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC now owns 1,036 shares of the company's stock worth $36,000 after buying an additional 671 shares during the last quarter. Quantbot Technologies LP bought a new position in Ionis Pharmaceuticals during the 3rd quarter valued at about $51,000. Finally, Raiffeisen Bank International AG purchased a new stake in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals during the 4th quarter valued at about $62,000. Institutional investors own 93.86% of the company's stock.

About Ionis Pharmaceuticals

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.