Ionis Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:IONS) Receives "Buy" Rating from HC Wainwright

Key Points

• HC Wainwright reiterated a “Buy” rating on Ionis Pharmaceuticals and set a $100 price target, implying approximately 127.6% upside from the stock’s $43.93 opening price.
• Analyst sentiment remains positive, with 17 Buy ratings, four Holds and one Sell; MarketBeat reports a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating and an average price target of $89.20.
• Institutional investors own 93.86% of Ionis shares, while insiders own 1.81%; the stock is near its 52-week low of $43.01 versus a high of $86.74.

Ionis Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:IONS - Get Free Report)'s stock had its "buy" rating reiterated by analysts at HC Wainwright in a research note issued on Thursday, Benzinga reports. They presently have a $100.00 target price on the stock. HC Wainwright's price objective would suggest a potential upside of 127.63% from the company's current price.

IONS has been the subject of several other reports. Oppenheimer reissued an "outperform" rating and set a $85.00 price objective on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals in a report on Thursday. Jefferies Financial Group dropped their price target on Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $113.00 to $90.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, July 9th. Guggenheim dropped their price objective on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $89.00 to $80.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, September 15th. Barclays dropped their price target on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $90.00 to $85.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, September 9th. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group reduced their price objective on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $95.00 to $85.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, September 8th. Seventeen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $89.20.

Ionis Pharmaceuticals Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:IONS opened at $43.93 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $7.30 billion, a P/E ratio of -12.70 and a beta of 0.42. The company's 50-day moving average is $55.33 and its 200 day moving average is $67.61. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.07, a quick ratio of 7.73 and a current ratio of 7.89. Ionis Pharmaceuticals has a fifty-two week low of $43.01 and a fifty-two week high of $86.74.

Insider Buying and Selling at Ionis Pharmaceuticals

In other Ionis Pharmaceuticals news, Director Michael R. Hayden purchased 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, July 31st. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $51.60 per share, with a total value of $258,000.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director directly owned 24,000 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,238,400. This trade represents a 26.32% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Holly B. Kordasiewicz sold 362 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $84.30, for a total transaction of $30,516.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 22,096 shares in the company, valued at $1,862,692.80. The trade was a 1.61% 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 ninety days, insiders have sold 110,078 shares of company stock valued at $9,021,117. 1.81% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Capital World Investors grew its stake in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 41.2% in the fourth quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 17,961,299 shares of the company's stock worth $1,420,918,000 after acquiring an additional 5,238,571 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 2.7% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 3,148,849 shares of the company's stock worth $249,158,000 after buying an additional 82,560 shares during the last quarter. Baker BROS. Advisors LP lifted its stake in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 216.1% in the fourth quarter. Baker BROS. Advisors LP now owns 1,791,841 shares of the company's stock worth $141,753,000 after buying an additional 1,225,043 shares in the last quarter. Alyeska Investment Group L.P. grew its holdings in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 199.7% during the second quarter. Alyeska Investment Group L.P. now owns 1,417,916 shares of the company's stock valued at $112,427,000 after buying an additional 944,766 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Pictet Asset Management Holding SA increased its position in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 1.2% during the first quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA now owns 1,434,995 shares of the company's stock valued at $107,077,000 after acquiring an additional 16,504 shares in the last quarter. 93.86% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Ionis Pharmaceuticals Company Profile

Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc is a biotechnology company that discovers and develops medicines using antisense technology, which is designed to target RNA and influence the production of disease-related proteins. The company focuses on neurological, cardiovascular, metabolic and other serious diseases for which there remains a significant unmet medical need.

Ionis has developed several approved therapies, including SPINRAZA (nusinersen) for spinal muscular atrophy, QALSODY (tofersen) for a form of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, TEGSEDI (inotersen) for hereditary transthyretin-mediated amyloidosis and WAYLIVRA (volanesorsen) for familial chylomicronemia syndrome in certain markets.

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