Ionis Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:IONS) Given Buy Rating at Needham & Company LLC

Key Points

• Needham & Company reiterated a “Buy” rating on Ionis Pharmaceuticals and set an $86 price target, implying approximately 47% upside from the reported $58.52 share price.
• Analyst sentiment remains broadly positive, with 17 Buy ratings, four Holds and one Sell; the consensus rating is “Moderate Buy” with an average target price of $94.20.
• Ionis exceeded quarterly expectations, reporting an adjusted loss of $0.69 per share versus the $1.08 consensus estimate and revenue of $267.95 million, although revenue declined 40.7% year over year and insiders have recently sold shares.

Ionis Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:IONS - Get Free Report)'s stock had its "buy" rating restated by equities researchers at Needham & Company LLC in a research report issued to clients and investors on Friday, Benzinga reports. They presently have a $86.00 price objective on the stock. Needham & Company LLC's target price suggests a potential upside of 46.97% from the stock's current price.

A number of other equities analysts have also recently issued reports on the company. Wall Street Zen cut Ionis Pharmaceuticals from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Saturday, August 1st. BMO Capital Markets increased their price target on Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $60.00 to $61.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a research report on Friday. Wolfe Research reissued a "peer perform" rating on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Thursday, July 16th. Citigroup cut their price objective on Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $115.00 to $100.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, July 10th. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group reduced their price objective on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $110.00 to $95.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, July 10th. Seventeen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $94.20.

Ionis Pharmaceuticals Stock Performance

IONS stock traded up $0.39 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $58.52. The company had a trading volume of 653,676 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,408,370. Ionis Pharmaceuticals has a one year low of $50.01 and a one year high of $86.74. The stock has a market capitalization of $9.72 billion, a P/E ratio of -16.89 and a beta of 0.42. The company has a quick ratio of 7.73, a current ratio of 7.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.07. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $61.71 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $70.64.

Ionis Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:IONS - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 29th. The company reported ($0.69) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($1.08) by $0.39. The company had revenue of $267.95 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $189.10 million. Ionis Pharmaceuticals had a negative return on equity of 111.08% and a negative net margin of 64.76%.The company's revenue for the quarter was down 40.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.70 earnings per share. Research analysts anticipate that Ionis Pharmaceuticals will post -3.57 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Ionis Pharmaceuticals

In related news, EVP Holly Kordasiewicz sold 60,846 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $73.41, for a total value of $4,466,704.86. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 22,458 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,648,641.78. This represents a 73.04% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CEO Brett Monia sold 50,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $80.59, for a total value of $4,029,500.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 245,571 shares of the company's stock, valued at $19,790,566.89. The trade was a 16.92% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders have sold a total of 225,163 shares of company stock valued at $17,711,191 in the last ninety days. Company insiders own 1.81% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Ionis Pharmaceuticals

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of IONS. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. purchased a new stake in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals during the fourth quarter worth $27,000. Cassaday & Co Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Ionis Pharmaceuticals in the 1st quarter worth about $30,000. Quarry LP purchased a new stake in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals during the 3rd quarter worth about $38,000. Allworth Financial LP acquired 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 in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $43,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.86% of the company's stock.

Ionis Pharmaceuticals Company Profile

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.

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