Barclays Issues Positive Forecast for Ionis Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:IONS) Stock Price

Key Points

• Barclays has raised its target price for Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $58.00 to $78.00, suggesting a potential upside of 29.15% from the current price.
• Ionis Pharmaceuticals reported a significant quarterly revenue increase of 100.9% year-over-year, reaching $452.00 million, while also exceeding earnings per share estimates by $0.51.
• Currently, Ionis Pharmaceuticals holds a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" with a price target estimate of $67.73 from multiple analysts, indicating strong market interest in the stock.

Ionis Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:IONS - Get Free Report) had its target price upped by stock analysts at Barclays from $58.00 to $78.00 in a research report issued on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has an "overweight" rating on the stock. Barclays's target price indicates a potential upside of 29.15% from the company's current price.

A number of other research firms have also commented on IONS. BMO Capital Markets raised shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $40.00 to $70.00 in a research note on Wednesday. Raymond James Financial raised their price objective on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $60.00 to $64.00 and gave the stock a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 31st. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price objective on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $83.00 to $96.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $77.00 to $82.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, August 22nd. Finally, Needham & Company LLC increased their target price on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $55.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have given a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Ionis Pharmaceuticals currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $67.73.

Ionis Pharmaceuticals Price Performance

Shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals stock traded up $2.90 on Wednesday, hitting $60.39. The company had a trading volume of 3,131,003 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,853,324. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $42.42 and a 200-day simple moving average of $35.77. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.99, a current ratio of 2.87 and a quick ratio of 2.86. The company has a market cap of $9.63 billion, a PE ratio of -32.81 and a beta of 0.28. Ionis Pharmaceuticals has a 52 week low of $23.95 and a 52 week high of $62.08.

Ionis Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:IONS - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 30th. The company reported $0.70 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.19 by $0.51. Ionis Pharmaceuticals had a negative net margin of 28.25% and a negative return on equity of 45.29%. The firm had revenue of $452.00 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $270.90 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted ($0.45) earnings per share. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 100.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Ionis Pharmaceuticals has set its FY 2025 guidance at EPS. Research analysts expect that Ionis Pharmaceuticals will post -3.5 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Ionis Pharmaceuticals

In related news, CEO Brett P. Monia sold 2,432 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $45.00, for a total value of $109,440.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 179,820 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,091,900. This trade represents a 1.33% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Eugene Schneider sold 9,549 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Monday, August 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $42.80, for a total transaction of $408,697.20. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 51,507 shares in the company, valued at $2,204,499.60. This represents a 15.64% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 39,568 shares of company stock worth $1,705,296 in the last ninety days. Company insiders own 2.71% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Ionis Pharmaceuticals

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Orion Porfolio Solutions LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals during the 2nd quarter valued at about $221,000. Marex Group plc bought a new position in Ionis Pharmaceuticals during the 2nd quarter valued at about $3,294,000. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co lifted its holdings in Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 6.0% during the 2nd quarter. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co now owns 46,501 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,841,000 after purchasing an additional 2,648 shares during the last quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC lifted its holdings in Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 0.3% during the 2nd quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC now owns 237,931 shares of the company's stock valued at $9,401,000 after purchasing an additional 798 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Vestal Point Capital LP bought a new position in Ionis Pharmaceuticals during the 2nd quarter valued at about $19,755,000. 93.86% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Ionis Pharmaceuticals Company Profile

Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc discovers and develops RNA-targeted therapeutics in the United States. The company offers SPINRAZA for spinal muscular atrophy (SMA) in pediatric and adult patients; TEGSEDI, an antisense injection for the treatment of polyneuropathy caused by hereditary transthyretin amyloidosis in adults; and WAYLIVRA, an antisense medicine for treatment for familial chylomicronemia syndrome (FCS) and familial partial lipodystrophy.

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