HC Wainwright Reaffirms Buy Rating for Ionis Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:IONS)

HC Wainwright reiterated their buy rating on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:IONS) in a research report report published on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. HC Wainwright currently has a $50.00 price target on the stock.

Several other research firms have also recently commented on IONS. BMO Capital Markets lowered their target price on Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $60.00 to $45.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, February 20th. Needham & Company LLC decreased their price target on Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $60.00 to $55.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 30th. Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and set a $70.00 price objective on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Thursday, February 20th. Guggenheim reduced their price objective on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $65.00 to $64.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, Citigroup lowered their target price on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $67.00 to $64.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, February 20th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating, twelve have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $56.67.

Ionis Pharmaceuticals Stock Up 1.3%

Ionis Pharmaceuticals stock opened at $34.47 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.12, a quick ratio of 8.82 and a current ratio of 8.47. Ionis Pharmaceuticals has a one year low of $23.95 and a one year high of $52.34. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $30.60 and a 200-day simple moving average of $33.14. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.49 billion, a P/E ratio of -11.34 and a beta of 0.15.

Ionis Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:IONS) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The company reported ($0.93) EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($1.07) by $0.14. Ionis Pharmaceuticals had a negative net margin of 64.25% and a negative return on equity of 100.05%. The firm had revenue of $132.00 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $144.31 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned ($0.98) EPS. Ionis Pharmaceuticals’s quarterly revenue was up 10.9% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts expect that Ionis Pharmaceuticals will post -3.5 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Michael R. Hayden purchased 15,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 1st. The shares were purchased at an average price of $31.86 per share, with a total value of $477,900.00. Following the purchase, the director now owns 50,219 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,599,977.34. This trade represents a 42.59% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Patrick R. O’neil sold 1,207 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $32.35, for a total value of $39,046.45. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 56,245 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,819,525.75. The trade was a 2.10% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 2,027 shares of company stock worth $62,863. Corporate insiders own 2.60% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in IONS. Focus Partners Wealth lifted its position in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 30.1% in the 1st quarter. Focus Partners Wealth now owns 9,832 shares of the company’s stock valued at $297,000 after acquiring an additional 2,277 shares in the last quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC raised its stake in Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 6.4% during the 1st quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 659,435 shares of the company’s stock valued at $19,895,000 after purchasing an additional 39,794 shares during the period. Exome Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 121.0% in the first quarter. Exome Asset Management LLC now owns 135,616 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,092,000 after purchasing an additional 74,249 shares in the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 72.5% in the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 652,518 shares of the company’s stock valued at $19,686,000 after purchasing an additional 274,310 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Teza Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 20.2% in the first quarter. Teza Capital Management LLC now owns 10,244 shares of the company’s stock worth $309,000 after buying an additional 1,719 shares during the period. 93.86% of the stock is 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.