Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:IONS) Stock Has Consensus Target Price of $75.71 According to Analysts

Key Points

• Analyst sentiment is moderately bullish: 19 of 23 covering firms rate Ionis Pharmaceuticals a buy, and the average 12-month price target is $75.71.
• Ionis reported quarterly EPS of a loss of $0.66, better than the expected loss of $1.23, while revenue of $242.72 million exceeded estimates and rose 54.8% year over year.
• The shares traded at $29.06, well below their 52-week high of $86.74. Director Michael Hayden bought 5,000 shares for $148,200, increasing his holdings by 22.7%.

Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:IONS - Get Free Report) has been assigned an average recommendation of "Moderate Buy" from the twenty-three research firms that are currently covering the firm, Marketbeat reports. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and nineteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average twelve-month price target among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $75.71.

IONS has been the subject of several research reports. Raymond James Financial reissued an "outperform" rating and issued a $54.00 price objective on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Monday, November 9th. Barclays decreased their target price 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. BMO Capital Markets upgraded shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and upped their price target for the stock from $54.00 to $66.00 in a report on Thursday, October 22nd. Citigroup reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals in a report on Wednesday, October 21st. Finally, Needham & Company LLC dropped their price target on Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $86.00 to $54.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, November 9th.

Ionis Pharmaceuticals Price Performance

NASDAQ IONS traded up $1.75 during trading on Friday, hitting $29.06. 5,945,342 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 4,386,260. The company has a market cap of $4.84 billion, a PE ratio of -8.75 and a beta of 0.43. The company has a current ratio of 5.43, a quick ratio of 7.73 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.42. Ionis Pharmaceuticals has a fifty-two week low of $27.25 and a fifty-two week high of $86.74. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $43.65 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $64.57.

Ionis Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:IONS - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, November 9th. The company reported ($0.66) earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of ($1.23) by $0.57. The company had revenue of $242.72 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $178.17 million. Ionis Pharmaceuticals had a negative net margin of 56.98% and a negative return on equity of 120.62%. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 54.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company posted ($0.80) EPS. Research analysts expect that Ionis Pharmaceuticals will post -3.59 EPS for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Michael Hayden bought 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 10th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $29.64 per share, with a total value of $148,200.00. Following the acquisition, the director directly owned 27,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $800,280. This trade represents a 22.73% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Shannon Devers sold 1,357 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, October 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $43.54, for a total value of $59,083.78. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 17,811 shares of the company's stock, valued at $775,490.94. This represents a 7.08% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Insiders own 1.81% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA increased its position in Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 21.7% in the 3rd quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA now owns 1,944,020 shares of the company's stock valued at $87,249,000 after acquiring an additional 347,022 shares during the period. Alyeska Investment Group L.P. raised its stake 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 acquiring an additional 944,766 shares during the last quarter. GW&K Investment Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 79.6% during the third quarter. GW&K Investment Management LLC now owns 1,341,315 shares of the company's stock valued at $59,890,000 after acquiring an additional 594,349 shares during the last quarter. Groupama Asset Managment lifted its holdings in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 7.5% during the first quarter. Groupama Asset Managment now owns 824,540 shares of the company's stock worth $61,915,000 after purchasing an additional 57,651 shares during the period. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE acquired a new position in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals during the second quarter worth $62,718,000. Institutional investors own 93.86% of the company's stock.

Key Stories Impacting Ionis Pharmaceuticals

Here are a few of the latest stories about IONS:

• Positive Sentiment: Director Michael Hayden purchased 5,000 shares for $148,200, increasing his Ionis holdings by 22.7%—an insider buy that may signal confidence in the company. SEC filing
• Negative Sentiment: Ionis reportedly cut its full-year TRYNGOLZA sales outlook by roughly half after third-quarter sales reached just $9.3 million. The sales shortfall prompted investor-law-firm investigations, creating additional legal and reputational overhang. Investor investigation notice Wolf Popper investigation
• Negative Sentiment: Several firms—including Morgan Stanley, Needham, HC Wainwright, Oppenheimer and Goldman Sachs—cut price expectations; a separate analyst downgrade was associated with a sharp recent decline in the shares. Artisan Partners also said its small-cap growth strategy exited Ionis following sequential Phase 3 setbacks. Morgan Stanley price target Artisan Partners exit

Ionis Pharmaceuticals Company Profile

Ionis Pharmaceuticals is a biotechnology company that discovers and develops RNA-targeted medicines, with a focus on antisense oligonucleotides. Its medicines are designed to act on RNA and change the production of proteins linked to disease. The company's research and development programs span neurological, cardiovascular, metabolic and rare diseases. Ionis has developed medicines that it commercializes itself and products advanced or marketed with pharmaceutical partners. Its medicines and partnered products include treatments for conditions such as spinal muscular atrophy and transthyretin amyloidosis.

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.