Ionis Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:IONS) Shares Gap Up on Strong Earnings

Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:IONS - Get Free Report) shares gapped up prior to trading on Wednesday following a stronger than expected earnings report. The stock had previously closed at $31.95, but opened at $34.50. Ionis Pharmaceuticals shares last traded at $33.07, with a volume of 122,816 shares.

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%. Ionis Pharmaceuticals's revenue was down 30.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.12 EPS.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms recently weighed in on IONS. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $60.00 price objective on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Thursday. StockNews.com lowered Ionis Pharmaceuticals from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 12th. Citigroup cut their price objective on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $67.00 to $64.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and issued a $70.00 target price on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals in a report on Thursday. Finally, William Blair reiterated an "outperform" rating on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals in a report on Friday, December 20th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating, thirteen have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Ionis Pharmaceuticals currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $60.00.

Insider Buying and Selling at Ionis Pharmaceuticals

In other Ionis Pharmaceuticals news, Director Michael R. Hayden purchased 5,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 23rd. The shares were acquired at an average price of $36.22 per share, for a total transaction of $181,100.00. Following the purchase, the director now directly 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 acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Patrick R. O'neil sold 6,165 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $31.62, for a total value of $194,937.30. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 57,452 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,816,632.24. This trade represents a 9.69 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 110,609 shares of company stock worth $3,564,867 in the last three months. 2.71% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Ionis Pharmaceuticals

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of IONS. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 9.4% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 16,472,539 shares of the company's stock valued at $575,880,000 after acquiring an additional 1,416,781 shares during the period. Capital World Investors lifted its holdings in Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 46.5% during the fourth quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 11,465,413 shares of the company's stock valued at $400,831,000 after purchasing an additional 3,637,041 shares in the last quarter. Orbimed Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 21.2% in the fourth quarter. Orbimed Advisors LLC now owns 2,817,347 shares of the company's stock worth $98,494,000 after purchasing an additional 492,900 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 0.7% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,687,248 shares of the company's stock worth $93,976,000 after purchasing an additional 18,890 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals during the 4th quarter valued at $59,948,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.86% of the company's stock.

Ionis Pharmaceuticals Stock Performance

The company has a market cap of $5.14 billion, a PE ratio of -10.63 and a beta of 0.34. The company has a current ratio of 8.47, a quick ratio of 8.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.12. The business's 50 day moving average is $33.65 and its two-hundred day moving average is $38.36.

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.