Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:IONS) Given Average Recommendation of "Moderate Buy" by Brokerages

Shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:IONS - Get Free Report) have been given an average recommendation of "Moderate Buy" by the twenty analysts that are covering the company, Marketbeat reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating, twelve have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. The average 1 year price objective among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $56.67.

IONS has been the subject of several research reports. BMO Capital Markets reduced their price objective on Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $60.00 to $45.00 and set a "market perform" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, February 20th. Redburn Atlantic initiated coverage on Ionis Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Monday, March 31st. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $39.00 target price for the company. Wall Street Zen upgraded Ionis Pharmaceuticals to a "sell" rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 18th. Guggenheim cut their target price on Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $65.00 to $64.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $47.00 to $45.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, March 24th.

Ionis Pharmaceuticals Stock Up 0.1%

Shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals stock opened at $35.29 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.62 billion, a P/E ratio of -11.61 and a beta of 0.18. The company has a quick ratio of 8.82, a current ratio of 8.47 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.12. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $31.07 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $32.87. Ionis Pharmaceuticals has a 12-month low of $23.95 and a 12-month high of $52.34.

Ionis Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:IONS - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 30th. The company reported ($0.93) earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($1.07) by $0.14. Ionis Pharmaceuticals had a negative return on equity of 100.05% and a negative net margin of 64.25%. The company had revenue of $132.00 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $144.31 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned ($0.98) earnings per share. Ionis Pharmaceuticals's revenue for the quarter was up 10.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts expect that Ionis Pharmaceuticals will post -3.5 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Ionis Pharmaceuticals

In other news, Director Michael R. Hayden purchased 15,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 1st. The shares were acquired at an average price of $31.86 per share, for a total transaction of $477,900.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now directly owns 50,219 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,599,977.34. The trade was a 42.59% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Company insiders own 2.60% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Ionis Pharmaceuticals

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Signaturefd LLC boosted its holdings in Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 160.0% during the fourth quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 949 shares of the company's stock worth $33,000 after buying an additional 584 shares during the last quarter. Huntington National Bank boosted its holdings 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. Lindbrook Capital LLC boosted its holdings in Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 183.8% during the fourth quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC now owns 1,036 shares of the company's stock worth $36,000 after buying an additional 671 shares during the last quarter. Raiffeisen Bank International AG bought a new position in Ionis Pharmaceuticals during the fourth quarter worth about $62,000. Finally, Ancora Advisors LLC bought a new position in Ionis Pharmaceuticals during the first quarter worth about $60,000. Institutional investors own 93.86% of the company's stock.

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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