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

Shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:IONS) have earned an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the twenty-one ratings firms that are currently covering the company, Marketbeat.com reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating, sixteen have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. The average 12-month target price among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $100.90.

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on IONS shares. Barclays increased their price objective on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $106.00 to $115.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. Raymond James Financial started coverage on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Friday, April 10th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $104.00 price objective on the stock. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $95.00 to $130.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 21st. Bank of America increased their price objective on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $100.00 to $111.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 9th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada increased their price objective on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $95.00 to $100.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 30th.

Insider Transactions at Ionis Pharmaceuticals

In other Ionis Pharmaceuticals news, EVP Brian Birchler sold 973 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $75.04, for a total transaction of $73,013.92. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 67,500 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,065,200. This trade represents a 1.42% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Also, Director Spencer R. Berthelsen sold 8,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $73.49, for a total transaction of $587,920.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 156,013 shares in the company, valued at $11,465,395.37. This represents a 4.88% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders sold 99,726 shares of company stock worth $7,353,901 in the last 90 days. Insiders own 1.81% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Ionis Pharmaceuticals

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of IONS. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 72.5% during 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 stake in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 6.4% during the 1st quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 659,435 shares of the company’s stock worth $19,895,000 after purchasing an additional 39,794 shares during the last quarter. Focus Partners Wealth boosted its stake in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 30.1% during the 1st quarter. Focus Partners Wealth now owns 9,832 shares of the company’s stock worth $297,000 after purchasing an additional 2,277 shares during the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals during the 2nd quarter worth about $220,000. Finally, Prudential Financial Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 47.8% during the 2nd quarter. Prudential Financial Inc. now owns 9,254 shares of the company’s stock worth $341,000 after purchasing an additional 2,991 shares during the last quarter. 93.86% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Ionis Pharmaceuticals Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ IONS opened at $73.09 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $12.08 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -35.31 and a beta of 0.37. Ionis Pharmaceuticals has a 52 week low of $34.84 and a 52 week high of $86.74. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $74.89 and its 200 day moving average price is $77.65. The company has a current ratio of 4.10, a quick ratio of 4.09 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.75.

Ionis Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:IONS) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 29th. The company reported ($0.56) EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.85) by $0.29. The firm had revenue of $246.09 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $195.57 million. Ionis Pharmaceuticals had a negative net margin of 30.91% and a negative return on equity of 58.65%. The firm’s revenue was up 86.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned ($0.93) EPS. As a group, research analysts forecast that Ionis Pharmaceuticals will post -3.64 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.