Ionis Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:IONS) Raised to "Strong-Buy" at HC Wainwright

Ionis Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:IONS - Get Free Report) was upgraded by equities researchers at HC Wainwright to a "strong-buy" rating in a report released on Monday, April 7th, Marketbeat reports. The brokerage currently has a $45.00 price target on the stock. HC Wainwright's price objective indicates a potential upside of 57.23% from the stock's current price. HC Wainwright also issued estimates for Ionis Pharmaceuticals' Q1 2025 earnings at ($1.04) EPS, Q2 2025 earnings at ($0.89) EPS, Q3 2025 earnings at ($0.91) EPS, Q4 2025 earnings at ($0.78) EPS, FY2025 earnings at ($3.61) EPS, Q1 2026 earnings at ($0.80) EPS, Q2 2026 earnings at ($0.73) EPS, Q3 2026 earnings at ($0.72) EPS, Q4 2026 earnings at ($0.62) EPS and FY2026 earnings at ($2.86) EPS.

Other equities analysts have also issued reports about the stock. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an "outperform" rating and set a $70.00 target price on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals in a report on Thursday, February 20th. William Blair reissued an "outperform" rating on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals in a report on Friday, December 20th. Redburn Atlantic initiated coverage on Ionis Pharmaceuticals in a report on Monday, March 31st. They set a "neutral" rating and a $39.00 price target for the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $47.00 to $45.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, March 24th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets lowered their price target on Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $60.00 to $45.00 and set a "market perform" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, February 20th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating, eleven have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Ionis Pharmaceuticals currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $56.72.

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Ionis Pharmaceuticals Trading Up 2.6 %

NASDAQ:IONS traded up $0.72 during trading hours on Monday, hitting $28.62. The company had a trading volume of 844,567 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,506,355. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $31.22 and a 200 day moving average price of $34.56. The company has a market capitalization of $4.55 billion, a PE ratio of -9.41 and a beta of 0.29. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.12, a current ratio of 8.47 and a quick ratio of 8.82. Ionis Pharmaceuticals has a 52 week low of $23.95 and a 52 week high of $52.34.

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

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Eric Swayze sold 7,154 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $32.84, for a total transaction of $234,937.36. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 45,670 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,499,802.80. This trade represents a 13.54 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Brett P. Monia sold 33,445 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on 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 completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 207,396 shares in the company, valued at $6,767,331.48. This trade represents a 13.89 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 111,956 shares of company stock worth $3,608,439 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 2.71% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Ionis Pharmaceuticals

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of IONS. Xponance Inc. raised its stake in Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 1.7% in the fourth quarter. Xponance Inc. now owns 19,339 shares of the company's stock worth $676,000 after buying an additional 318 shares in the last quarter. Amalgamated Bank lifted its holdings in Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 3.4% in the fourth quarter. Amalgamated Bank now owns 10,292 shares of the company's stock valued at $360,000 after acquiring an additional 335 shares during the period. Vontobel Holding Ltd. grew its stake in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 6.6% during the 4th quarter. Vontobel Holding Ltd. now owns 5,865 shares of the company's stock worth $205,000 after purchasing an additional 363 shares during the period. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC lifted its stake in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 1.7% in the 4th quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC now owns 21,826 shares of the company's stock valued at $763,000 after purchasing an additional 373 shares during the period. Finally, Treasurer of the State of North Carolina boosted its holdings in Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 0.6% during the fourth quarter. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina now owns 68,803 shares of the company's stock worth $2,405,000 after buying an additional 440 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 93.86% of the company's stock.

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.