Ionis Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:IONS) Rating Lowered to Sell at StockNews.com

Ionis Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:IONS - Get Free Report) was downgraded by analysts at StockNews.com from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report issued on Friday.

A number of other research analysts have also issued reports on IONS. BMO Capital Markets lowered shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating and reduced their target price for the company from $67.00 to $60.00 in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their target price on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $33.00 to $37.00 and gave the company a "sell" rating in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a "buy" rating and issued a $60.00 price target on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. Leerink Partners raised shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and upped their price target for the stock from $53.00 to $62.00 in a research note on Wednesday, July 24th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Tuesday, July 16th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $75.00 price target for the company. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating, twelve have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $60.28.

Ionis Pharmaceuticals Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ IONS traded up $0.42 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $39.19. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,036,048 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,528,993. Ionis Pharmaceuticals has a 1-year low of $35.95 and a 1-year high of $54.44. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $42.44 and its 200-day moving average price is $43.10. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.67, a quick ratio of 7.51 and a current ratio of 7.61. The firm has a market cap of $5.73 billion, a P/E ratio of -15.55 and a beta of 0.38.

Ionis Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:IONS - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The company reported ($0.45) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.92) by $0.47. The firm had revenue of $225.00 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $152.35 million. Ionis Pharmaceuticals had a negative net margin of 44.90% and a negative return on equity of 115.66%. Ionis Pharmaceuticals's revenue was up 19.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.60 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Ionis Pharmaceuticals will post -3.67 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Richard S. Geary sold 2,430 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $48.00, for a total transaction of $116,640.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 85,508 shares in the company, valued at $4,104,384. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders have sold 2,803 shares of company stock worth $134,402 over the last 90 days. 2.71% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. TD Asset Management Inc increased its stake in Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 6.1% in the 2nd quarter. TD Asset Management Inc now owns 952,762 shares of the company's stock valued at $45,409,000 after buying an additional 54,400 shares during the period. Candriam S.C.A. grew its position in Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 4.0% in the second quarter. Candriam S.C.A. now owns 948,266 shares of the company's stock worth $45,192,000 after acquiring an additional 36,369 shares in the last quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. grew its position in Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 12.2% in the first quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. now owns 571,763 shares of the company's stock worth $24,786,000 after acquiring an additional 62,230 shares in the last quarter. Great Point Partners LLC bought a new stake in Ionis Pharmaceuticals in the second quarter worth approximately $15,728,000. Finally, International Assets Investment Management LLC grew its position in Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 3,287.0% in the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 328,772 shares of the company's stock worth $13,171,000 after acquiring an additional 319,065 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.

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