HC Wainwright Cuts Ionis Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:IONS) Price Target to $100.00

Ionis Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:IONS) had its price objective trimmed by HC Wainwright from $115.00 to $100.00 in a research report released on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a buy rating on the stock. HC Wainwright also issued estimates for Ionis Pharmaceuticals’ Q4 2026 earnings at ($1.01) EPS, Q1 2027 earnings at ($0.75) EPS, Q2 2027 earnings at ($0.69) EPS, Q4 2027 earnings at $0.19 EPS and FY2027 earnings at ($1.25) EPS.

A number of other research analysts have also recently commented on the stock. BMO Capital Markets increased their target price on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $60.00 to $61.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Friday, September 4th. Guggenheim decreased their price target on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $106.00 to $89.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, July 21st. Citigroup lowered their price objective on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $115.00 to $100.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, July 10th. Raymond James Financial set a $87.00 price objective on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Thursday, July 9th. Finally, Morgan Stanley cut their target price on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $130.00 to $110.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, July 10th. Seventeen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $91.25.

Ionis Pharmaceuticals Stock Performance

NASDAQ:IONS opened at $55.65 on Tuesday. Ionis Pharmaceuticals has a twelve month low of $50.01 and a twelve month high of $86.74. The company has a quick ratio of 7.73, a current ratio of 7.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.07. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $59.36 and its 200 day simple moving average is $69.76. The firm has a market capitalization of $9.25 billion, a PE ratio of -16.08 and a beta of 0.42.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Eugene Schneider sold 26,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $81.05, for a total value of $2,107,300.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 77,114 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,250,089.70. This represents a 25.21% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, Director Allene M. Diaz sold 10,111 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $85.42, for a total transaction of $863,681.62. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 3,811 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $325,535.62. This trade represents a 72.63% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 164,317 shares of company stock valued at $13,244,486. 1.81% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Ionis Pharmaceuticals

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Capital World Investors increased its position in Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 41.2% in the 4th quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 17,961,299 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,420,918,000 after acquiring an additional 5,238,571 shares during the period. California State Teachers Retirement System raised its stake in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 8,029.6% during the second quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 14,347,446 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,137,609,000 after acquiring an additional 14,170,961 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 2.7% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 3,148,849 shares of the company’s stock worth $249,158,000 after purchasing an additional 82,560 shares during the period. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD lifted its holdings in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 9.5% during the fourth quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 2,987,840 shares of the company’s stock worth $236,370,000 after purchasing an additional 258,155 shares during the period. Finally, Baker BROS. Advisors LP grew its stake in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 216.1% in the fourth quarter. Baker BROS. Advisors LP now owns 1,791,841 shares of the company’s stock worth $141,753,000 after purchasing an additional 1,225,043 shares during the last quarter. 93.86% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Ionis Pharmaceuticals News Roundup

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

• Positive Sentiment: HC Wainwright modestly improved its earnings outlook. The firm raised its EPS estimates for the fourth quarter of 2026, the first and second quarters of 2027, and full-year 2027. It maintained a Buy rating and a $100 price target, although it still expects Ionis to report losses through most of the forecast period. HC Wainwright estimates
• Positive Sentiment: Bank of America Securities reiterated its Buy rating on Ionis, providing some support for the stock and signaling that the firm continues to see upside despite recent weakness. Bank of America rating
• Neutral Sentiment: Ionis presented at the Wells Fargo 21st Annual Healthcare Conference. The transcript may provide additional detail on its pipeline and commercial outlook, but no specific new catalyst was identified in the available report. Wells Fargo conference transcript
• Negative Sentiment: Analyst pessimism appears to be the main near-term pressure. Ionis shares reportedly gapped down following an analyst downgrade, while separate reports highlighted bearish forecasts from Canaccord Genuity and HC Wainwright. This likely outweighed the modestly improved earnings estimates and Buy ratings. Ionis shares gap down after downgrade
• Neutral Sentiment: The reported short-interest data shows zero shares short both currently and in the prior period, but the figures appear incomplete or erroneous and therefore offer no reliable trading signal.

Ionis Pharmaceuticals Company Profile

Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc is a biotechnology company that discovers and develops medicines using antisense technology, which is designed to target RNA and influence the production of disease-related proteins. The company focuses on neurological, cardiovascular, metabolic and other serious diseases for which there remains a significant unmet medical need.

Ionis has developed several approved therapies, including SPINRAZA (nusinersen) for spinal muscular atrophy, QALSODY (tofersen) for a form of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, TEGSEDI (inotersen) for hereditary transthyretin-mediated amyloidosis and WAYLIVRA (volanesorsen) for familial chylomicronemia syndrome in certain markets.