Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:IONS) Given Consensus Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by Analysts

Shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:IONS) have received an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the twenty-two analysts that are currently covering the stock, MarketBeat reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating, seventeen have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. The average 1 year target price among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $87.0476.

A number of research analysts have recently commented on IONS shares. The Goldman Sachs Group upgraded Ionis Pharmaceuticals from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and upped their price target for the stock from $45.00 to $65.00 in a report on Friday, September 26th. Needham & Company LLC raised their price target on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $78.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 30th. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $90.00 to $94.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 30th. Bank of America lifted their target price on Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $86.00 to $97.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 9th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their price target on Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $82.00 to $95.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 17th.

Ionis Pharmaceuticals Stock Down 1.1%

IONS opened at $76.33 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $12.36 billion, a P/E ratio of -45.17 and a beta of 0.28. Ionis Pharmaceuticals has a twelve month low of $23.95 and a twelve month high of $86.15. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.96, a quick ratio of 2.78 and a current ratio of 2.79. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $78.66 and a 200 day moving average price of $63.71.

Ionis Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:IONS) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 29th. The company reported ($0.80) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of ($1.15) by $0.35. The company had revenue of $156.72 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $131.75 million. Ionis Pharmaceuticals had a negative net margin of 26.45% and a negative return on equity of 44.26%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 17.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned ($0.95) earnings per share. Research analysts forecast that Ionis Pharmaceuticals will post -3.5 EPS for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Ionis Pharmaceuticals

In other news, EVP Richard S. Geary sold 89,249 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, October 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $75.11, for a total value of $6,703,492.39. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 59,657 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,480,837.27. This represents a 59.94% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Brian Birchler sold 8,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, November 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $76.17, for a total value of $609,360.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 48,826 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,719,076.42. This trade represents a 14.08% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold 274,007 shares of company stock valued at $21,370,455 over the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 2.60% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in IONS. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 72.5% in the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 652,518 shares of the company’s stock worth $19,686,000 after purchasing an additional 274,310 shares during the last quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC boosted its position in Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 6.4% in the first quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 659,435 shares of the company’s stock valued at $19,895,000 after buying an additional 39,794 shares in the last quarter. Focus Partners Wealth grew its stake in Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 30.1% during the first quarter. Focus Partners Wealth now owns 9,832 shares of the company’s stock worth $297,000 after buying an additional 2,277 shares during the last quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 151.3% during the second quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 1,872 shares of the company’s stock worth $74,000 after buying an additional 1,127 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Wedmont Private Capital bought a new position in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals in the second quarter valued at approximately $226,000. 93.86% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

About Ionis Pharmaceuticals

Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc is a biotechnology company focused on the discovery and development of RNA-targeted therapies designed to modulate gene expression. The company’s proprietary antisense oligonucleotide (ASO) technology enables the selective binding of short synthetic strands of nucleic acids to messenger RNA (mRNA), thereby inhibiting or altering the production of disease-causing proteins. Ionis’ pipeline spans a range of therapeutic areas, including neurological disorders, cardiovascular conditions, metabolic diseases and rare genetic disorders.

Since its founding in 1989 by Dr.