Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:IONS) Receives Average Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from Analysts

Shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:IONS) have been assigned a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” from the twenty-one research firms that are presently covering the firm, MarketBeat Ratings reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, three have issued a hold recommendation, sixteen have issued a buy recommendation and one has assigned a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 12 month price objective among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $89.00.

A number of brokerages have recently commented on IONS. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $82.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, January 5th. Needham & Company LLC lifted their price target on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $90.00 to $103.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 25th. HC Wainwright boosted their price target on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $100.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, November 10th. Leerink Partners increased their price objective on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $102.00 to $104.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 3rd. Finally, Piper Sandler raised their price objective on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $87.00 to $100.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, February 27th.

Insider Activity

In other Ionis Pharmaceuticals news, CEO Brett P. Monia sold 62,970 shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $82.72, for a total transaction of $5,208,878.40. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 283,927 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $23,486,441.44. The trade was a 18.15% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Eric Swayze sold 23,463 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $79.12, for a total value of $1,856,392.56. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 30,453 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,409,441.36. This represents a 43.52% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 596,652 shares of company stock valued at $48,059,821. Insiders own 2.71% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Ionis Pharmaceuticals

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Steigerwald Gordon & Koch Inc. purchased a new stake in Ionis Pharmaceuticals during the third quarter worth approximately $25,000. Golden State Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 198.4% in the third quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC now owns 376 shares of the company’s stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 250 shares during the last quarter. Mather Group LLC. purchased a new position in Ionis Pharmaceuticals in the third quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. acquired a new stake in Ionis Pharmaceuticals during the fourth quarter worth approximately $27,000. Finally, Allworth Financial LP raised its holdings in Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 231.8% during the second quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 740 shares of the company’s stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 517 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.86% of the company’s stock.

Key Headlines Impacting Ionis Pharmaceuticals

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

• Positive Sentiment: Broker upgrades and higher price targets are supporting upside sentiment — multiple firms recently raised ratings/targets (examples include Leerink and H.C. Wainwright), which can attract buyers and underpin the stock. Leerink Raises PT HC Wainwright Buy
• Positive Sentiment: An analyst raised Q1 EPS estimates for Ionis, which narrows short‑term earnings uncertainty and could support a re-rating if results confirm the revision. Q1 EPS Estimate Boosted
• Neutral Sentiment: Peer data flow — Biogen is presenting new SMA data this week. Positive competitor readouts can be a headwind for Ionis’ SMA-related programs or, alternatively, validate the market; implications are mixed for Ionis’ pipeline valuation. Biogen SMA Data
• Negative Sentiment: Significant insider selling by senior executives and a director is weighing on sentiment — EVP C. Frank Bennett sold ~85,089 shares, Director Allene Diaz sold ~54,878 shares and EVP Shannon Devers sold ~20,106 shares in early March; those large, concentrated disposals (multi‑million dollar amounts) often trigger investor concern about management conviction. Insider Sales
• Negative Sentiment: Fundamental headwinds remain — the most recent quarter missed EPS expectations (despite a revenue beat) and the company still projects negative full‑year earnings, keeping profitability and cash‑flow concerns front of mind for investors. Recent Earnings Recap

Ionis Pharmaceuticals Trading Down 1.5%

NASDAQ:IONS opened at $74.04 on Monday. Ionis Pharmaceuticals has a 12-month low of $23.95 and a 12-month high of $86.74. The firm has a market cap of $12.23 billion, a PE ratio of -30.34 and a beta of 0.31. The company has a current ratio of 3.83, a quick ratio of 3.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.76. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $81.06 and a 200 day moving average price of $73.55.

Ionis Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:IONS) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 25th. The company reported ($1.41) earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($1.23) by ($0.18). The company had revenue of $203.00 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $156.07 million. Ionis Pharmaceuticals had a negative return on equity of 68.82% and a negative net margin of 40.36%.Ionis Pharmaceuticals’s revenue for the quarter was down 10.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned ($0.66) EPS. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Ionis Pharmaceuticals will post -3.5 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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.