Q1 EPS Forecast for Ionis Pharmaceuticals Lowered by Analyst

Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:IONS - Free Report) - Stock analysts at Leerink Partnrs lowered their Q1 2025 earnings per share estimates for shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals in a research note issued to investors on Wednesday, April 16th. Leerink Partnrs analyst M. Foroohar now forecasts that the company will post earnings per share of ($1.21) for the quarter, down from their prior forecast of ($1.18). The consensus estimate for Ionis Pharmaceuticals' current full-year earnings is ($3.50) per share. Leerink Partnrs also issued estimates for Ionis Pharmaceuticals' Q2 2025 earnings at ($0.76) EPS, Q3 2025 earnings at ($0.90) EPS, Q4 2025 earnings at ($0.73) EPS, FY2025 earnings at ($3.60) EPS, FY2026 earnings at ($2.67) EPS and FY2027 earnings at ($1.31) EPS.

IONS has been the subject of a number of other reports. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $60.00 price target on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Tuesday. Citigroup decreased their price objective on Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $67.00 to $64.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, February 20th. Redburn Atlantic started coverage on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Monday, March 31st. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $39.00 price target on the stock. Guggenheim reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals in a report on Thursday, April 3rd. Finally, William Blair reaffirmed an "outperform" rating on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Friday, December 20th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating, eleven have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Ionis Pharmaceuticals presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $56.72.

Ionis Pharmaceuticals Price Performance

Ionis Pharmaceuticals stock opened at $28.40 on Friday. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $30.93 and a 200-day moving average of $34.31. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.51 billion, a P/E ratio of -9.34 and a beta of 0.29. 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 has a 52 week low of $23.95 and a 52 week high of $52.34.

Ionis Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:IONS - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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 net margin of 64.25% and a negative return on equity of 100.05%. The business had revenue of $227.00 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $140.97 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.12 earnings per share. Ionis Pharmaceuticals's revenue was down 30.2% compared to the same quarter last year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Ionis Pharmaceuticals

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in IONS. Signaturefd LLC grew its stake in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 160.0% during the fourth quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 949 shares of the company's stock valued at $33,000 after buying an additional 584 shares during the last quarter. Huntington National Bank grew its position in Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 193.5% during the 4th quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 951 shares of the company's stock worth $33,000 after acquiring an additional 627 shares during the last quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC increased its stake 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 purchasing an additional 671 shares during the period. Raiffeisen Bank International AG bought a new stake in Ionis Pharmaceuticals in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $62,000. Finally, Venturi Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $107,000. Institutional investors own 93.86% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Eric Swayze sold 1,367 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $32.31, for a total value of $44,167.77. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 48,017 shares in the company, valued at $1,551,429.27. The trade was a 2.77 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Patrick R. O'neil sold 6,165 shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $31.62, for a total transaction of $194,937.30. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 57,452 shares in the company, 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 63,167 shares of company stock worth $2,010,458 over the last quarter. 2.71% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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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