Ionis Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:IONS) Stock Rating Upgraded by BMO Capital Markets

Ionis Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:IONS) was upgraded by equities research analysts at BMO Capital Markets to a “hold” rating in a report released on Tuesday,Zacks.com reports.

Several other equities analysts also recently weighed in on IONS. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $100.00 to $95.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, July 30th. Oppenheimer reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $111.00 price target on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. Leerink Partners increased their price objective on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $122.00 to $129.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, June 25th. Raymond James Financial set a $87.00 target price on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals in a report on Thursday, July 9th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group dropped their target price on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $113.00 to $90.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, July 9th. Seventeen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $94.15.

Ionis Pharmaceuticals Price Performance

IONS stock opened at $60.80 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.07, a quick ratio of 7.73 and a current ratio of 7.89. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $64.77 and a 200-day moving average price of $72.41. Ionis Pharmaceuticals has a 52-week low of $41.71 and a 52-week high of $86.74. The firm has a market capitalization of $10.10 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -17.57 and a beta of 0.41.

Ionis Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:IONS) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 29th. The company reported ($0.69) earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of ($1.08) by $0.39. The company had revenue of $267.95 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $189.10 million. Ionis Pharmaceuticals had a negative return on equity of 111.08% and a negative net margin of 64.76%.The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 40.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.70 EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that Ionis Pharmaceuticals will post -3.57 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Brett P. Monia sold 50,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $80.59, for a total transaction of $4,029,500.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 245,571 shares in the company, valued at $19,790,566.89. This represents a 16.92% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, EVP C Frank Bennett sold 5,536 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $83.58, for a total transaction of $462,698.88. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 75,018 shares in the company, valued at $6,270,004.44. This represents a 6.87% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 233,163 shares of company stock worth $18,316,551. 1.81% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Ionis Pharmaceuticals

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. bought a new stake in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals in the fourth quarter worth $27,000. Cassaday & Co Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Ionis Pharmaceuticals in the first quarter worth about $30,000. Quarry LP purchased a new position in Ionis Pharmaceuticals in the third quarter worth about $38,000. Allworth Financial LP bought a new stake in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals during the 2nd quarter valued at about $41,000. Finally, Silvant Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals during the 2nd quarter valued at about $43,000. 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.