Guggenheim Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation for Ionis Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:IONS) Stock

Key Points

• Guggenheim has increased its target price for Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $90 to $92, suggesting a potential upside of 49.93% from the current stock price.
• Several research firms have given mixed ratings, with one analyst rating it as a Strong Buy and a total of thirteen Buy ratings among various firms.
• Ionis Pharmaceuticals reported $0.70 EPS for the last quarter, significantly exceeding analysts' expectations of $0.19, along with a revenue increase of 100.9% year-over-year.

Ionis Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:IONS - Get Free Report) had its target price increased by Guggenheim from $90.00 to $92.00 in a report issued on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has a "buy" rating on the stock. Guggenheim's target price indicates a potential upside of 49.93% from the stock's current price.

Several other research analysts have also recently commented on IONS. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their target price on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $40.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock a "sell" rating in a report on Wednesday, September 3rd. Royal Bank Of Canada raised their price target on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $70.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, September 4th. Citigroup raised their price target on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $69.00 to $84.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, September 3rd. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price target on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $83.00 to $96.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, September 2nd. Finally, Bank of America raised their price target on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $81.00 to $83.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have given a Buy rating, two have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Ionis Pharmaceuticals has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $71.29.

Ionis Pharmaceuticals Stock Up 0.6%

Ionis Pharmaceuticals stock opened at $61.36 on Tuesday. The company's 50-day moving average price is $48.10 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $38.66. The stock has a market cap of $9.78 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -33.35 and a beta of 0.28. The company has a current ratio of 2.87, a quick ratio of 2.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.99. Ionis Pharmaceuticals has a 52 week low of $23.95 and a 52 week high of $64.71.

Ionis Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:IONS - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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 company had revenue of $452.00 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $270.90 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted ($0.45) EPS. The business's revenue was up 100.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Ionis Pharmaceuticals has set its FY 2025 guidance at EPS. On average, analysts expect that Ionis Pharmaceuticals will post -3.5 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Ionis Pharmaceuticals

In other Ionis Pharmaceuticals news, EVP C Frank Bennett sold 33,909 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, September 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $60.62, for a total transaction of $2,055,563.58. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 101,570 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,157,173.40. This represents a 25.03% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director B Lynne Parshall sold 20,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $50.91, for a total transaction of $1,018,200.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 66,344 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,377,573.04. The trade was a 23.16% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 492,841 shares of company stock worth $28,595,925 over the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 2.71% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Ionis Pharmaceuticals

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Osaic Holdings Inc. raised its holdings in Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 123.2% during the 2nd quarter. Osaic Holdings Inc. now owns 5,296 shares of the company's stock worth $209,000 after buying an additional 2,923 shares during the period. Orion Porfolio Solutions LLC acquired a new stake in Ionis Pharmaceuticals during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $221,000. Marex Group plc acquired a new stake in Ionis Pharmaceuticals during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $3,294,000. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co raised 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 worth $1,841,000 after buying an additional 2,648 shares during the period. Finally, Corient Private Wealth LLC grew its stake in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 0.3% during the 2nd quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC now owns 237,931 shares of the company's stock worth $9,401,000 after acquiring an additional 798 shares in the last quarter. 93.86% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Ionis Pharmaceuticals

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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