StockNews.com Downgrades Ionis Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:IONS) to Sell

StockNews.com cut shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:IONS - Free Report) from a hold rating to a sell rating in a research note published on Tuesday.

A number of other analysts also recently issued reports on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $50.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Monday, August 26th. Barclays boosted their target price on Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $45.00 to $51.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price objective on Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $33.00 to $37.00 and gave the company a "sell" rating in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. Jefferies Financial Group began coverage on Ionis Pharmaceuticals in a report on Tuesday, July 16th. They set a "buy" rating and a $75.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Bank of America upped their price objective on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $67.00 to $68.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 23rd. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating, twelve have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Ionis Pharmaceuticals currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $60.71.

Ionis Pharmaceuticals Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:IONS traded down $1.11 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $37.77. The company had a trading volume of 936,993 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,314,130. The company's 50 day moving average price is $40.48 and its 200 day moving average price is $42.91. Ionis Pharmaceuticals has a 52-week low of $35.95 and a 52-week high of $54.44. The stock has a market cap of $5.96 billion, a P/E ratio of -15.93 and a beta of 0.39. The company has a current ratio of 8.91, a quick ratio of 7.51 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.86.

Institutional Trading of Ionis Pharmaceuticals

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky boosted its position in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 70.6% in the first quarter. Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky now owns 24,083 shares of the company's stock worth $1,044,000 after buying an additional 9,965 shares during the period. Entropy Technologies LP bought a new stake in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $630,000. Edgestream Partners L.P. acquired a new stake in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals in the 1st quarter valued at $765,000. Blair William & Co. IL boosted its stake in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 67.4% in the 1st quarter. Blair William & Co. IL now owns 27,838 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,207,000 after purchasing an additional 11,210 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. bought a new position in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals in the first quarter valued at about $613,000. 93.86% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.