Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:IONS) Receives $97.35 Average Target Price from Analysts

Shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:IONS) have been given an average rating of “Moderate Buy” by the twenty-one analysts that are currently covering the stock, Marketbeat.com reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating, seventeen have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. The average 1-year price objective among analysts that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $99.35.

A number of equities analysts recently commented on IONS shares. HC Wainwright boosted their price objective on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $120.00 to $125.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday. Oppenheimer reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $111.00 price target on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Thursday. Needham & Company LLC upped their price target on Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $103.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 25th. Barclays upped their price target on Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $106.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada upped their price target on Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $95.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 30th.

Insider Buying and Selling at Ionis Pharmaceuticals

In other news, Director Allene M. Diaz sold 54,878 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $79.35, for a total transaction of $4,354,569.30. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 3,811 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $302,402.85. This represents a 93.51% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP C Frank Bennett sold 85,089 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $79.23, for a total value of $6,741,601.47. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 80,554 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,382,293.42. The trade was a 51.37% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 666,443 shares of company stock valued at $50,623,742. Corporate insiders own 2.71% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Ionis Pharmaceuticals

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Steigerwald Gordon & Koch Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals in the 3rd quarter valued at $25,000. Golden State Wealth Management LLC increased its position in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 198.4% in the 3rd quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC now owns 376 shares of the company’s stock valued at $25,000 after acquiring an additional 250 shares during the period. Mather Group LLC. acquired a new position in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals in the 3rd quarter valued at $27,000. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. acquired a new position in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals in the 4th quarter valued at $27,000. Finally, Quarry LP acquired a new position in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals in the 3rd quarter valued at $38,000. 93.86% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Ionis Pharmaceuticals Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:IONS opened at $75.45 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $12.47 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -36.45 and a beta of 0.38. Ionis Pharmaceuticals has a 52 week low of $31.66 and a 52 week high of $86.74. The company has a quick ratio of 4.09, a current ratio of 4.10 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.75. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $75.30 and a 200 day moving average of $77.35.

Ionis Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:IONS) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 29th. The company reported ($0.56) EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.85) by $0.29. The company had revenue of $246.00 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $195.57 million. Ionis Pharmaceuticals had a negative net margin of 30.91% and a negative return on equity of 58.65%. Ionis Pharmaceuticals’s revenue for the quarter was up 86.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted ($0.93) earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Ionis Pharmaceuticals will post -4.07 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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.