Ionis Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:IONS) Price Target Lowered to $100.00 at HC Wainwright

Key Points

• HC Wainwright lowered Ionis Pharmaceuticals’ price target from $115 to $100 while maintaining a “buy” rating, implying 72.15% upside from the prior close.
• Analyst sentiment remains broadly positive, with 17 buy ratings, four holds, and one sell rating; the consensus target is $92.95, according to MarketBeat.
• Ionis shares opened at $58.09 and have traded between $50.01 and $86.74 over the past year. Insiders have sold $17.7 million in stock over the past 90 days, while institutions own 93.86% of the company.

Ionis Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:IONS - Get Free Report) had its target price decreased by research analysts at HC Wainwright from $115.00 to $100.00 in a research note issued on Tuesday, Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has a "buy" rating on the stock. HC Wainwright's price objective would indicate a potential upside of 72.15% from the company's previous close.

A number of other research analysts have also weighed in on IONS. Royal Bank Of Canada cut their price objective on Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $100.00 to $85.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, July 13th. Raymond James Financial set a $87.00 price target on Ionis Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Thursday, July 9th. Weiss Ratings restated a "sell (d-)" rating on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals in a report on Friday, July 17th. Barclays decreased their price objective on Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $115.00 to $90.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, July 10th. Finally, Guggenheim cut their target price on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $106.00 to $89.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, July 21st. Seventeen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $92.95.

Ionis Pharmaceuticals Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:IONS opened at $58.09 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $9.65 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -16.79 and a beta of 0.42. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $60.80 and a 200 day moving average price of $70.32. Ionis Pharmaceuticals has a fifty-two week low of $50.01 and a fifty-two week high of $86.74. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.07, a quick ratio of 7.73 and a current ratio of 7.89.

Insider Buying and Selling at Ionis Pharmaceuticals

In other news, EVP C. Bennett sold 5,536 shares of the business'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 transaction, the executive vice president owned 75,018 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $6,270,004.44. The trade was a 6.87% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, Director Michael R. Hayden purchased 5,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, July 31st. The shares were bought at an average price of $51.60 per share, for a total transaction of $258,000.00. Following the acquisition, the director directly owned 24,000 shares in the company, valued at $1,238,400. This trade represents a 26.32% increase in their position. Additional details regarding this purchase are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 225,163 shares of company stock valued at $17,711,191. Corporate insiders own 1.81% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Ionis Pharmaceuticals

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. bought a new stake in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals in the 4th quarter worth about $27,000. Cassaday & Co Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Ionis Pharmaceuticals during the 1st quarter valued at about $30,000. Allworth Financial LP purchased a new stake in Ionis Pharmaceuticals in the 2nd quarter worth about $41,000. Silvant Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in Ionis Pharmaceuticals in the second quarter worth about $43,000. Finally, Quarry LP bought a new stake in Ionis Pharmaceuticals in the third quarter worth about $38,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors 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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