Ionis Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:IONS) Upgraded at StockNews.com

Ionis Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:IONS) was upgraded by StockNews.com to a “sell” rating in a research report issued to clients and investors on Tuesday.

Other research analysts have also recently issued research reports about the stock. Citigroup dropped their price objective on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $67.00 to $64.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, February 20th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $51.00 to $47.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, March 11th. BMO Capital Markets dropped their price objective on shares of 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. Needham & Company LLC restated a “buy” rating and issued a $60.00 price objective on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Thursday, February 20th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $70.00 target price on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Thursday, February 20th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating, thirteen have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Ionis Pharmaceuticals currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $59.56.

Ionis Pharmaceuticals Price Performance

Shares of IONS traded down $1.35 on Tuesday, hitting $32.95. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 1,014,007 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,409,015. The company has a market capitalization of $5.24 billion, a PE ratio of -10.84 and a beta of 0.28. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.12, a current ratio of 8.47 and a quick ratio of 8.82. Ionis Pharmaceuticals has a fifty-two week low of $30.23 and a fifty-two week high of $52.34. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $32.67 and a 200 day moving average price of $36.49.

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Eric Swayze sold 7,154 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $32.84, for a total value of $234,937.36. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 45,670 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,499,802.80. This represents a 13.54 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Patrick R. O’neil sold 6,165 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $31.62, for a total transaction of $194,937.30. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 57,452 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,816,632.24. The trade was a 9.69 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 111,956 shares of company stock valued at $3,608,439. Company insiders own 2.71% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Ionis Pharmaceuticals

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Signaturefd LLC boosted its stake in shares of 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 during the last quarter. Huntington National Bank boosted its stake in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 193.5% during the 4th quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 951 shares of the company’s stock worth $33,000 after buying an additional 627 shares during the last quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC boosted its stake in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 183.8% during the 4th quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC now owns 1,036 shares of the company’s stock worth $36,000 after buying an additional 671 shares during the last quarter. Prospera Private Wealth LLC acquired a new position in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals during the 3rd quarter worth about $42,000. Finally, Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. raised its holdings in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 40.9% in the 3rd 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 during the period. 93.86% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Ionis Pharmaceuticals

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.