Ionis Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:IONS) Stock Keeps "Buy" Rating at HC Wainwright

Ionis Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:IONS - Get Free Report)'s stock had its "buy" rating reissued by equities researchers at HC Wainwright in a report released on Thursday, MarketBeat.com reports. They presently have a $100.00 target price on the stock. HC Wainwright's target price points to a potential upside of 123.96% from the company's previous close.

A number of other equities analysts have also recently issued reports on the company. Citigroup decreased their target price on Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $115.00 to $100.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, July 10th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $76.00 to $70.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, September 22nd. TD Cowen reissued a "buy" rating on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Tuesday, September 8th. Barclays reduced their price objective on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $90.00 to $85.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, September 9th. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group decreased their target price on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $95.00 to $85.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, September 8th. Seventeen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Ionis Pharmaceuticals currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $89.20.

Ionis Pharmaceuticals Price Performance

Ionis Pharmaceuticals stock traded down $1.24 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $44.65. The company's stock had a trading volume of 2,526,303 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,654,066. The stock has a market capitalization of $7.42 billion, a P/E ratio of -12.90 and a beta of 0.42. Ionis Pharmaceuticals has a twelve month low of $43.01 and a twelve month high of $86.74. The stock's fifty day moving average price is $54.62 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $66.77. The company has a quick ratio of 7.73, a current ratio of 7.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.07.

Insider Transactions at Ionis Pharmaceuticals

In other Ionis Pharmaceuticals news, Director Michael R. Hayden bought 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, July 31st. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $51.60 per share, with a total value of $258,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 24,000 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,238,400. This represents a 26.32% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Allene M. Diaz sold 10,111 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $85.42, for a total value of $863,681.62. Following the transaction, the director owned 3,811 shares in the company, valued at approximately $325,535.62. This trade represents a 72.63% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders sold 31,009 shares of company stock valued at $2,638,797 over the last 90 days. Company insiders own 1.81% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Ionis Pharmaceuticals

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in IONS. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals during the 2nd quarter valued at about $283,000. Tidal Investments LLC lifted its holdings in Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 42.8% in the 2nd quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 49,178 shares of the company's stock worth $3,899,000 after purchasing an additional 14,746 shares during the last quarter. MCF Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 12,172.0% in the 2nd quarter. MCF Advisors LLC now owns 6,136 shares of the company's stock worth $487,000 after purchasing an additional 6,086 shares during the last quarter. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC boosted its position in Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 7.4% during the second quarter. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC now owns 2,926 shares of the company's stock worth $232,000 after purchasing an additional 202 shares during the period. Finally, Arizona State Retirement System boosted its position in Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 2.5% during the second quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 43,302 shares of the company's stock worth $3,433,000 after purchasing an additional 1,036 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 93.86% of the company's stock.

About Ionis Pharmaceuticals

Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc is a biotechnology company focused on discovering and developing RNA-targeted medicines. The company's antisense technology is designed to selectively bind to RNA and modify the production of disease-associated proteins. Its research programs address neurological, cardiovascular, metabolic and other serious diseases.

Ionis has developed medicines both independently and through collaborations with larger pharmaceutical companies. Its products and partnered therapies have included treatments for spinal muscular atrophy, hereditary transthyretin-mediated amyloidosis, familial chylomicronemia syndrome and transthyretin amyloidosis with cardiomyopathy or polyneuropathy.