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

Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:IONS) has earned an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the twenty-two research firms that are presently covering the firm, Marketbeat.com reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, three have issued a hold recommendation and eighteen have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12 month target price among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $96.05.

IONS has been the subject of several research reports. Weiss Ratings restated a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Tuesday, April 21st. Wolfe Research reiterated a “peer perform” rating on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals in a report on Thursday. Citigroup dropped their price target on Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $115.00 to $100.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, July 10th. HC Wainwright cut their price target on Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $130.00 to $125.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, July 10th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded Ionis Pharmaceuticals from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, May 2nd.

Insider Transactions at Ionis Pharmaceuticals

In other Ionis Pharmaceuticals news, EVP Eugene Schneider sold 26,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $81.05, for a total value of $2,107,300.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 77,114 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,250,089.70. This represents a 25.21% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, EVP Holly B. Kordasiewicz sold 60,846 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $73.41, for a total transaction of $4,466,704.86. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 22,458 shares in the company, valued at $1,648,641.78. This represents a 73.04% 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 have sold a total of 233,163 shares of company stock worth $18,316,551 in the last ninety days. Company insiders own 1.81% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Ionis Pharmaceuticals

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. acquired a new position in Ionis Pharmaceuticals in the 4th quarter valued at $27,000. Cassaday & Co Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals during the first quarter worth $30,000. Quarry LP acquired a new stake in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals during the third quarter worth $38,000. Johnson Financial Group Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals in the third quarter valued at $44,000. Finally, Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Ionis Pharmaceuticals in the fourth quarter valued at $47,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.86% of the company’s stock.

Ionis Pharmaceuticals Price Performance

Ionis Pharmaceuticals stock opened at $54.65 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $9.03 billion, a PE ratio of -26.40 and a beta of 0.36. Ionis Pharmaceuticals has a 52 week low of $40.03 and a 52 week high of $86.74. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $74.15 and its 200 day simple moving average is $76.54. The company has a quick ratio of 4.09, a current ratio of 4.10 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.75.

Ionis Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:IONS) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The company reported ($0.56) earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.85) by $0.29. Ionis Pharmaceuticals had a negative net margin of 30.91% and a negative return on equity of 58.65%. The firm had revenue of $246.09 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $195.56 million. During the same period last year, the firm posted ($0.93) EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 86.4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts predict that Ionis Pharmaceuticals will post -3.78 EPS 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.