Ionis Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:IONS) Stock Price Expected to Rise, HC Wainwright Analyst Says

Key Points

• HC Wainwright has raised the target price for Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $65.00 to $70.00, indicating a potential upside of 61.89% from its previous close.
• Ionis Pharmaceuticals reported a significant revenue increase of 100.9% year-over-year, with quarterly earnings per share of $0.70, surpassing estimates.
• Overall, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" with a target price of $59.77, while insider selling activities have been noted among executives.

Ionis Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:IONS - Free Report) had its price target boosted by HC Wainwright from $65.00 to $70.00 in a report issued on Friday morning,Benzinga reports. HC Wainwright currently has a buy rating on the stock.

Other equities analysts have also issued research reports about the stock. Needham & Company LLC dropped their target price on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $60.00 to $55.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 30th. Barclays raised shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $51.00 to $57.00 in a research report on Tuesday, July 1st. Raymond James Financial boosted their target price on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $60.00 to $64.00 and gave the stock a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 31st. Guggenheim dropped their target price on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $65.00 to $64.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $45.00 to $48.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday, June 12th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have issued a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $60.85.

Ionis Pharmaceuticals Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:IONS traded down $0.55 during trading on Friday, reaching $42.69. The stock had a trading volume of 1,859,935 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,215,521. The company has a quick ratio of 2.86, a current ratio of 2.87 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.99. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $41.38 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $35.14. The firm has a market capitalization of $6.80 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -23.20 and a beta of 0.25. Ionis Pharmaceuticals has a 52 week low of $23.95 and a 52 week high of $50.43.

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, EVP C Frank Bennett sold 10,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $43.98, for a total value of $439,800.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 93,466 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,110,634.68. This represents a 9.67% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Eugene Schneider sold 9,549 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $42.80, for a total value of $408,697.20. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 51,507 shares in the company, valued at approximately $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. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 38,141 shares of company stock worth $1,644,606. Insiders own 2.71% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Ionis Pharmaceuticals

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Allworth Financial LP grew its stake in Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 231.8% during the second quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 740 shares of the company's stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 517 shares during the last quarter. Signaturefd LLC grew its stake in Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 45.6% during the first quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 1,382 shares of the company's stock worth $42,000 after buying an additional 433 shares during the last quarter. Raiffeisen Bank International AG bought a new stake in Ionis Pharmaceuticals during the fourth quarter worth about $62,000. Parallel Advisors LLC grew its stake in Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 151.3% during the second quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 1,872 shares of the company's stock worth $74,000 after buying an additional 1,127 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Ancora Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Ionis Pharmaceuticals during the 1st quarter worth about $60,000. 93.86% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.