Q1 EPS Estimate for Ionis Pharmaceuticals Boosted by Analyst

Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:IONS) – Research analysts at HC Wainwright boosted their Q1 2026 EPS estimates for Ionis Pharmaceuticals in a report released on Monday, March 2nd. HC Wainwright analyst M. Kapoor now expects that the company will earn ($0.81) per share for the quarter, up from their prior forecast of ($0.98). HC Wainwright has a “Buy” rating and a $110.00 price target on the stock. The consensus estimate for Ionis Pharmaceuticals’ current full-year earnings is ($3.50) per share. HC Wainwright also issued estimates for Ionis Pharmaceuticals’ Q2 2026 earnings at ($0.82) EPS, Q3 2026 earnings at ($0.80) EPS, Q4 2026 earnings at ($0.84) EPS and FY2026 earnings at ($3.27) EPS.

Ionis Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:IONS) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, February 25th. The company reported ($1.41) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($1.23) by ($0.18). Ionis Pharmaceuticals had a negative net margin of 40.36% and a negative return on equity of 68.82%. The business had revenue of $203.00 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $156.07 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned ($0.66) EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 10.6% on a year-over-year basis.

IONS has been the subject of several other research reports. Barclays started coverage on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals in a report on Wednesday, January 28th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $95.00 price target for the company. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $82.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, January 5th. TD Cowen reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Wednesday, December 3rd. Bank of America boosted their price target 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, Wall Street Zen cut Ionis Pharmaceuticals from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Saturday, February 28th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have issued a Buy rating, three have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $89.00.

Ionis Pharmaceuticals Stock Down 5.4%

NASDAQ:IONS opened at $75.16 on Wednesday. Ionis Pharmaceuticals has a 1-year low of $23.95 and a 1-year high of $86.74. The company has a 50-day moving average of $81.18 and a 200 day moving average of $72.91. The firm has a market cap of $12.42 billion, a PE ratio of -30.80 and a beta of 0.31. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.76, a current ratio of 3.83 and a quick ratio of 3.81.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of IONS. Grandfield & Dodd LLC boosted its stake in Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 0.4% during the fourth quarter. Grandfield & Dodd LLC now owns 37,821 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,992,000 after buying an additional 146 shares during the period. CWM LLC raised its stake in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 7.3% in the 3rd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 2,488 shares of the company’s stock valued at $163,000 after acquiring an additional 170 shares during the period. Wedmont Private Capital lifted its holdings in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 3.2% in the 4th quarter. Wedmont Private Capital now owns 5,536 shares of the company’s stock worth $460,000 after acquiring an additional 173 shares during the last quarter. Prospera Financial Services Inc lifted its holdings in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 3.9% in the 4th quarter. Prospera Financial Services Inc now owns 4,759 shares of the company’s stock worth $376,000 after acquiring an additional 178 shares during the last quarter. Finally, MetLife Investment Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 2.6% during the 4th quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC now owns 9,674 shares of the company’s stock worth $765,000 after purchasing an additional 246 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.86% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Ionis Pharmaceuticals

In other Ionis Pharmaceuticals news, Director Allene M. Diaz sold 54,878 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $79.35, for a total value of $4,354,569.30. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 3,811 shares in the company, valued at approximately $302,402.85. This trade represents a 93.51% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP C Frank Bennett sold 85,089 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $82.93, for a total value of $7,056,430.77. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 80,293 shares in the company, valued at $6,658,698.49. The trade was a 51.45% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold a total of 596,652 shares of company stock worth $48,059,821 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 2.60% of the company’s stock.

Key Ionis Pharmaceuticals News

Here are the key news stories impacting Ionis Pharmaceuticals this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Leerink Partners raised its price target on IONS to $104, a bullish signal that can support the stock. Leerink Raises PT
• Positive Sentiment: H.C. Wainwright maintained a “Buy” rating and a $110 price target while updating EPS forecasts (mixed quarter-by-quarter changes but a modestly improved FY2026 view), which can underpin longer-term investor confidence. HC Wainwright Buy
• Neutral Sentiment: HC Wainwright published detailed EPS revisions for FY2026 and quarterly estimates (some quarters revised up, Q4 trimmed versus a prior view); the net impact is modestly positive for estimates but reflects continued negative EPS expectations for the year. HC Wainwright Estimates
• Negative Sentiment: EVP C. Frank Bennett sold 85,089 shares at an average ~$79.23 (≈$6.74M), cutting his stake by ~51%. Large insider selling can signal liquidity-taking or reduced insider conviction and often pressures the stock. Bennett SEC Filing
• Negative Sentiment: EVP Shannon L. Devers sold 20,106 shares at an average ~$79.40 (~$1.60M), reducing her position by ~47%, another notable insider exit. Devers SEC Filing
• Negative Sentiment: Director Allene M. Diaz sold 54,878 shares at an average ~$79.35 (~$4.35M), leaving a very small residual holding (≈93.5% reduction), which is a material reduction from board-level ownership. Diaz SEC Filing
• Negative Sentiment: Biogen announced upcoming presentations of new SMA data (high‑dose nusinersen, salanersen) — positive news for Biogen that could increase competitive pressure in SMA, an area relevant to Ionis’ pipeline. Biogen SMA Data

Ionis Pharmaceuticals Company Profile

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.