Ionis Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:IONS) Stock Lifted to "Outperform" by BMO Capital Markets

Key Points

• BMO Capital Markets upgraded Ionis Pharmaceuticals from “market perform” to “outperform” and set a $66 price target, implying approximately 49% upside from the reported $44.27 share price.
• Analyst sentiment is broadly positive: 19 analysts rate the stock a Buy, three rate it a Hold and one rates it a Sell, resulting in a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating and an average $89.48 target price.
• Ionis shares remain near their 12-month low, while institutional investors own a substantial 93.86% of the stock; the company develops antisense-based treatments for neurological, cardiovascular, metabolic and rare diseases.

Ionis Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:IONS - Get Free Report) was upgraded by stock analysts at BMO Capital Markets from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating in a report issued on Thursday, Briefing.com reports. The brokerage presently has a $66.00 target price on the stock. BMO Capital Markets' target price points to a potential upside of 49.09% from the company's current price.

Several other equities research analysts have also commented on the stock. UBS Group assumed coverage on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Thursday, October 15th. They set a "buy" rating and a $88.00 price objective on the stock. TD Cowen reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Tuesday, September 8th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $100.00 to $95.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, July 30th. Barclays lowered their target price on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $90.00 to $85.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, September 9th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $86.00 price target on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Friday, September 4th. Nineteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Ionis Pharmaceuticals has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $89.48.

Ionis Pharmaceuticals Stock Performance

Shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals stock opened at $44.27 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 7.89, a quick ratio of 7.73 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.07. The firm has a market capitalization of $7.36 billion, a P/E ratio of -12.79 and a beta of 0.38. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $51.06 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $63.55. Ionis Pharmaceuticals has a 12 month low of $42.08 and a 12 month high of $86.74.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Michael R. Hayden purchased 15,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 30th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $53.38 per share, for a total transaction of $800,700.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director directly owned 19,000 shares in the company, valued at $1,014,220. This represents a 375.00% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Shannon L. Devers sold 1,357 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, October 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $43.54, for a total transaction of $59,083.78. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 17,811 shares of the company's stock, valued at $775,490.94. This trade represents a 7.08% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. 1.81% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Ionis Pharmaceuticals

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in IONS. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA boosted 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 buying an additional 16,504 shares during the last quarter. Alyeska Investment Group L.P. lifted its stake in Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 199.7% during the 2nd quarter. Alyeska Investment Group L.P. now owns 1,417,916 shares of the company's stock valued at $112,427,000 after acquiring an additional 944,766 shares during the period. Groupama Asset Managment lifted its stake in Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 7.5% during the 1st quarter. Groupama Asset Managment now owns 824,540 shares of the company's stock valued at $61,915,000 after acquiring an additional 57,651 shares during the period. Bank of America Corp DE purchased a new stake in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals during the 2nd quarter valued at about $62,718,000. Finally, Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. purchased a new stake in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals during the 2nd quarter valued at about $54,253,000. 93.86% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

About Ionis Pharmaceuticals

Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc is a biotechnology company focused on discovering and developing medicines using antisense technology. Its platform is designed to selectively target RNA and regulate the production of disease-related proteins. The company develops therapies for neurological, cardiovascular and metabolic, and rare diseases.

Ionis has developed and commercialized medicines both independently and through collaborations with larger pharmaceutical companies. Its marketed or partnered products include Spinraza (nusinersen) for spinal muscular atrophy, Tegsedi (inotersen) and Wainua (eplontersen) for hereditary transthyretin amyloidosis, and Tryngolza (olezarsen) for familial chylomicronemia syndrome.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.