Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:IONS) Receives $55.67 Average Target Price from Analysts

Key Points

• Ionis Pharmaceuticals has received an average recommendation of "Moderate Buy" from analysts, with nine buy ratings, three hold ratings, and one sell rating, alongside a price target averaging $55.67.
• The company's recent quarterly earnings showed an EPS of ($0.93), which was better than the expected ($1.07), and total revenue of $132 million, up 10.9% year-over-year but below analyst estimates.
• In recent insider trading, Director Michael R. Hayden purchased 15,000 shares at $31.86 per share, increasing his stake significantly, while CEO Brett P. Monia sold 1,160 shares at an average price of $41.74.

Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:IONS - Get Free Report) has been given an average recommendation of "Moderate Buy" by the thirteen analysts that are covering the stock, Marketbeat Ratings reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, three have given a hold recommendation and nine have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 12 month price objective among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $55.67.

Several research analysts have weighed in on IONS shares. Needham & Company LLC reduced their target price on Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $60.00 to $55.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $45.00 to $48.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, June 12th. HC Wainwright reiterated a "buy" rating and set a $50.00 target price on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals in a report on Thursday, June 26th. Barclays upgraded Ionis Pharmaceuticals from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $51.00 to $57.00 in a report on Tuesday, July 1st. Finally, Guggenheim cut their price target on Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $65.00 to $64.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, May 1st.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Brett P. Monia sold 1,160 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Friday, July 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $41.74, for a total transaction of $48,418.40. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 179,820 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,505,686.80. This represents a 0.64% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Michael R. Hayden bought 15,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 1st. The shares were bought at an average price of $31.86 per share, for a total transaction of $477,900.00. Following the acquisition, the director directly owned 50,219 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,599,977.34. This represents a 42.59% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Corporate insiders own 2.60% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Ionis Pharmaceuticals

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of IONS. Huntington National Bank increased its position in Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 193.5% during the fourth quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 951 shares of the company's stock worth $33,000 after buying an additional 627 shares during the last quarter. Signaturefd LLC increased its position 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. Ancora Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Ionis Pharmaceuticals during the first quarter worth approximately $60,000. Raiffeisen Bank International AG acquired a new position in Ionis Pharmaceuticals during the fourth quarter worth approximately $62,000. Finally, CWM LLC increased its position in Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 18.7% during the first quarter. CWM LLC now owns 2,435 shares of the company's stock worth $73,000 after buying an additional 384 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.86% of the company's stock.

Ionis Pharmaceuticals Trading Up 4.6%

Shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals stock traded up $1.89 during trading on Friday, reaching $43.37. 4,161,841 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,643,265. The company has a quick ratio of 9.62, a current ratio of 9.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.63. Ionis Pharmaceuticals has a twelve month low of $23.95 and a twelve month high of $51.62. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $38.68 and a 200-day moving average price of $33.99. The firm has a market capitalization of $6.90 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -14.50 and a beta of 0.23.

Ionis Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:IONS - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, July 30th. The company reported $0.70 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.19 by $0.51. The firm had revenue of $452.00 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $270.90 million. Ionis Pharmaceuticals had a negative return on equity of 91.85% and a negative net margin of 63.65%. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 100.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted ($0.45) earnings per share. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Ionis Pharmaceuticals will post -3.5 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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.