Leerink Partnrs Analysts Lift Earnings Estimates for Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:IONS)

Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:IONS) – Equities researchers at Leerink Partnrs boosted their FY2026 earnings estimates for shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals in a note issued to investors on Tuesday, April 16th. Leerink Partnrs analyst M. Foroohar now anticipates that the company will post earnings per share of $1.09 for the year, up from their previous estimate of $1.04. The consensus estimate for Ionis Pharmaceuticals’ current full-year earnings is ($4.00) per share. Leerink Partnrs also issued estimates for Ionis Pharmaceuticals’ FY2027 earnings at $1.56 EPS.

Ionis Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:IONS) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 21st. The company reported ($0.06) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.78) by $0.72. Ionis Pharmaceuticals had a negative net margin of 46.32% and a negative return on equity of 90.29%. The company had revenue of $325.00 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $176.01 million. During the same period last year, the firm posted ($0.37) EPS. Ionis Pharmaceuticals’s revenue for the quarter was up 113.8% on a year-over-year basis.

Several other analysts also recently weighed in on the stock. William Blair reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals in a report on Tuesday, April 9th. Wolfe Research raised shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals from a “peer perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $58.00 target price on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 10th. Oppenheimer lifted their target price on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $72.00 to $75.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 9th. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their target price on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $65.00 to $70.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, January 26th. Finally, StockNews.com raised shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, February 24th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Ionis Pharmaceuticals currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $56.08.

Ionis Pharmaceuticals Stock Down 0.2 %

Shares of NASDAQ:IONS opened at $40.81 on Wednesday. The company has a market cap of $5.95 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -15.94 and a beta of 0.39. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $44.07 and its 200-day simple moving average is $47.30. The company has a quick ratio of 5.83, a current ratio of 5.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.18. Ionis Pharmaceuticals has a fifty-two week low of $34.32 and a fifty-two week high of $54.44.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Patrick R. O’neil sold 6,450 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $51.75, for a total value of $333,787.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 46,802 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,422,003.50. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In other news, CEO Brett P. Monia sold 23,501 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $49.37, for a total value of $1,160,244.37. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 174,138 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,597,193.06. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Patrick R. O’neil sold 6,450 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $51.75, for a total transaction of $333,787.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 46,802 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,422,003.50. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 51,434 shares of company stock valued at $2,556,127 over the last 90 days. Insiders own 2.65% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Ionis Pharmaceuticals

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 5.0% in the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 12,806,023 shares of the company’s stock valued at $566,411,000 after purchasing an additional 605,747 shares during the period. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. grew its holdings in Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 4.7% in the fourth quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. now owns 11,678,259 shares of the company’s stock valued at $441,088,000 after purchasing an additional 521,564 shares during the period. Clearbridge Investments LLC grew its holdings in Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 10.1% in the first quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC now owns 6,476,033 shares of the company’s stock valued at $239,872,000 after purchasing an additional 593,051 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its holdings in Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 162.2% in the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 4,616,978 shares of the company’s stock valued at $233,573,000 after purchasing an additional 2,856,353 shares during the period. Finally, Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD grew its holdings in Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 13.2% in the fourth quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 4,255,074 shares of the company’s stock valued at $215,265,000 after purchasing an additional 497,077 shares during the period. 93.86% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.