Brokerages Set Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:IONS) Price Target at $86.95

Shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:IONS) have been given an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by the twenty-one analysts that are currently covering the stock, MarketBeat reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating, sixteen have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. The average twelve-month price target among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $86.95.

IONS has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Bank of America boosted their target price on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $86.00 to $97.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 9th. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $90.00 to $94.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 30th. TD Cowen reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Wednesday, December 3rd. Leerink Partners boosted their price target on Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $85.00 to $100.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, December 15th. Finally, Piper Sandler raised their price objective on Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $77.00 to $87.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, February 6th.

Ionis Pharmaceuticals Stock Down 1.4%

Shares of NASDAQ:IONS opened at $80.60 on Thursday. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $80.68 and a 200 day moving average price of $69.76. The company has a current ratio of 2.79, a quick ratio of 2.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.96. Ionis Pharmaceuticals has a 12 month low of $23.95 and a 12 month high of $86.74. The company has a market cap of $13.05 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -47.69 and a beta of 0.29.

Insider Activity at Ionis Pharmaceuticals

In other Ionis Pharmaceuticals news, EVP C Frank Bennett sold 85,089 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $82.93, for a total transaction of $7,056,430.77. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 80,293 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,658,698.49. This represents a 51.45% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Brett P. Monia sold 29,430 shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $85.79, for a total transaction of $2,524,799.70. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 254,497 shares in the company, valued at approximately $21,833,297.63. The trade was a 10.37% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold 481,356 shares of company stock valued at $38,987,621 over the last 90 days. Insiders own 2.71% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Grandfield & Dodd LLC boosted its stake in Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 0.4% in the 4th quarter. Grandfield & Dodd LLC now owns 37,821 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,992,000 after purchasing an additional 146 shares in the last quarter. CWM LLC lifted its stake in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 7.3% during the third quarter. CWM LLC now owns 2,488 shares of the company’s stock worth $163,000 after buying an additional 170 shares during the period. Wedmont Private Capital grew its holdings in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 3.2% during the fourth quarter. Wedmont Private Capital now owns 5,536 shares of the company’s stock valued at $460,000 after buying an additional 173 shares during the last quarter. Prospera Financial Services Inc grew its holdings in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 3.9% during the fourth quarter. Prospera Financial Services Inc now owns 4,759 shares of the company’s stock valued at $376,000 after buying an additional 178 shares during the last quarter. Finally, MetLife Investment Management LLC increased its position in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 2.6% in the 4th quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC now owns 9,674 shares of the company’s stock valued at $765,000 after acquiring an additional 246 shares during the period. 93.86% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Ionis Pharmaceuticals

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.