Ionis Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:IONS) Coverage Initiated by Analysts at Barclays

Investment analysts at Barclays began coverage on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:IONS) in a research note issued to investors on Wednesday. The brokerage set an “overweight” rating and a $95.00 price target on the stock. Barclays‘s price target indicates a potential upside of 15.66% from the company’s previous close.

Other equities research analysts have also recently issued research reports about the company. Wall Street Zen cut Ionis Pharmaceuticals from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, November 1st. TD Cowen restated a “buy” rating on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals in a report on Wednesday, December 3rd. Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their price target on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $82.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 17th. Leerink Partners upped their price objective on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $85.00 to $100.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, December 15th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reiterated a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Thursday, January 22nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have issued a Buy rating, three have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $86.45.

Ionis Pharmaceuticals Price Performance

IONS stock opened at $82.14 on Wednesday. The business’s 50-day moving average is $79.75 and its two-hundred day moving average is $65.70. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.96, a current ratio of 2.79 and a quick ratio of 2.78. The firm has a market capitalization of $13.30 billion, a P/E ratio of -48.60 and a beta of 0.28. Ionis Pharmaceuticals has a 1 year low of $23.95 and a 1 year high of $86.15.

Ionis Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:IONS) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 29th. The company reported ($0.80) earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of ($1.15) by $0.35. The business had revenue of $156.72 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $131.75 million. Ionis Pharmaceuticals had a negative net margin of 26.45% and a negative return on equity of 44.26%. The company’s revenue was up 17.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business earned ($0.95) EPS. Analysts anticipate that Ionis Pharmaceuticals will post -3.5 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, EVP Patrick R. O’neil sold 9,191 shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $75.84, for a total value of $697,045.44. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 66,171 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,018,408.64. The trade was a 12.20% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Brett P. Monia sold 44,034 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $74.82, for a total transaction of $3,294,623.88. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 224,683 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $16,810,782.06. The trade was a 16.39% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last three months, insiders have sold 395,140 shares of company stock worth $30,506,876. 2.71% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of IONS. Steigerwald Gordon & Koch Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals during the 3rd quarter worth $25,000. Golden State Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings 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 buying an additional 250 shares in the last quarter. Mather Group LLC. acquired a new stake in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Allworth Financial LP boosted its stake in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 231.8% during the 2nd quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 740 shares of the company’s stock worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 517 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Quarry LP acquired a new stake in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $38,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.86% of the company’s stock.

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.