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

Shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:IONS) have earned a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” from the twenty analysts that are covering the company, MarketBeat.com reports. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating, thirteen have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating on the company. The average 12-month target price among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $59.44.

Several research firms have recently weighed in on IONS. BMO Capital Markets reduced their price objective on Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $60.00 to $45.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, February 20th. Citigroup dropped their price objective on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $67.00 to $64.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, February 20th. StockNews.com raised shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals to a “sell” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 18th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $47.00 to $45.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, March 24th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $70.00 price target on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals in a report on Thursday, February 20th.

Insider Activity at Ionis Pharmaceuticals

In other news, CEO Brett P. Monia sold 33,445 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $32.63, for a total transaction of $1,091,310.35. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 207,396 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,767,331.48. This trade represents a 13.89 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CFO Elizabeth L. Hougen sold 8,870 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $32.81, for a total value of $291,024.70. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 107,885 shares in the company, valued at $3,539,706.85. The trade was a 7.60 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 111,956 shares of company stock valued at $3,608,439 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 2.71% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Ionis Pharmaceuticals

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Signaturefd LLC lifted its position in Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 160.0% during the 4th quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 949 shares of the company’s stock worth $33,000 after buying an additional 584 shares in the last quarter. Huntington National Bank lifted its position in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 193.5% during the fourth quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 951 shares of the company’s stock worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 627 shares in the last quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC grew its stake in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 183.8% during the fourth quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC now owns 1,036 shares of the company’s stock valued at $36,000 after purchasing an additional 671 shares during the last quarter. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. increased its holdings in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 40.9% in the third quarter. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. now owns 1,081 shares of the company’s stock valued at $43,000 after purchasing an additional 314 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Quantbot Technologies LP bought a new position in Ionis Pharmaceuticals in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $51,000. Institutional investors own 93.86% of the company’s stock.

Ionis Pharmaceuticals Stock Performance

NASDAQ:IONS opened at $31.15 on Monday. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.95 billion, a PE ratio of -10.25 and a beta of 0.28. Ionis Pharmaceuticals has a 1 year low of $30.23 and a 1 year high of $52.34. The company has a current ratio of 8.47, a quick ratio of 8.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.12. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $32.53 and its 200 day simple moving average is $35.70.

Ionis Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:IONS) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 19th. The company reported ($0.66) EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of ($1.12) by $0.46. Ionis Pharmaceuticals had a negative return on equity of 100.05% and a negative net margin of 64.25%. The business had revenue of $227.00 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $140.97 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.12 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 30.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Ionis Pharmaceuticals will post -3.5 EPS for the current year.

Ionis Pharmaceuticals Company Profile

Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc discovers and develops RNA-targeted therapeutics in the United States. The company offers SPINRAZA for spinal muscular atrophy (SMA) in pediatric and adult patients; TEGSEDI, an antisense injection for the treatment of polyneuropathy caused by hereditary transthyretin amyloidosis in adults; and WAYLIVRA, an antisense medicine for treatment for familial chylomicronemia syndrome (FCS) and familial partial lipodystrophy.