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

Key Points

• Ionis Pharmaceuticals currently has a consensus analyst rating of “Moderate Buy” from 21 brokerages, with an average price target of $100.90. Several firms recently raised targets, including Morgan Stanley, which boosted its objective to $130.
• The company reported better-than-expected quarterly results, posting EPS of -$0.56 versus the expected -$0.85 and revenue of $246 million, well above estimates. Revenue also surged 86.4% year over year.
• Despite the positive outlook, insiders have been selling shares, including CEO Brett P. Monia and EVP Elizabeth L. Hougen, with $46.4 million in insider sales over the last 90 days. Meanwhile, institutional investors remain heavily invested, owning 93.86% of the stock.

Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:IONS - Get Free Report) has earned an average rating of "Moderate Buy" from the twenty-one ratings firms that are presently covering the firm, Marketbeat reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating, sixteen have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. The average twelve-month target price among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $100.90.

A number of research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $95.00 to $130.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Tuesday, April 21st. Leerink Partners lifted their price objective on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $102.00 to $104.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Tuesday, March 3rd. Needham & Company LLC lifted their price objective on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $103.00 to $105.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, March 25th. HC Wainwright lifted their price objective on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $120.00 to $125.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, April 30th. Finally, TD Cowen cut their price objective on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $110.00 to $108.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 23rd.

Ionis Pharmaceuticals Trading Down 0.3%

NASDAQ IONS opened at $75.56 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $12.49 billion, a PE ratio of -36.50 and a beta of 0.38. The company has a fifty day moving average of $74.18 and a 200 day moving average of $77.58. Ionis Pharmaceuticals has a 1 year low of $32.00 and a 1 year high of $86.74. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.75, a current ratio of 4.10 and a quick ratio of 4.09.

Ionis Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:IONS - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The company reported ($0.56) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.85) by $0.29. Ionis Pharmaceuticals had a negative net margin of 30.91% and a negative return on equity of 58.65%. The company had revenue of $246.00 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $195.57 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted ($0.93) earnings per share. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 86.4% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts forecast that Ionis Pharmaceuticals will post -3.76 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Ionis Pharmaceuticals news, CEO Brett P. Monia sold 126,670 shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction on Monday, March 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $75.20, for a total value of $9,525,584.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 242,662 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $18,248,182.40. The trade was a 34.30% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Elizabeth L. Hougen sold 215,048 shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction on Monday, March 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $72.40, for a total transaction of $15,569,475.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 92,832 shares of the company's stock, valued at $6,721,036.80. The trade was a 69.85% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold 616,371 shares of company stock valued at $46,406,452 in the last ninety days. Company insiders own 2.60% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Ionis Pharmaceuticals

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of IONS. Capital World Investors increased its stake in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 41.2% during the fourth quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 17,961,299 shares of the company's stock worth $1,420,918,000 after purchasing an additional 5,238,571 shares in the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. increased its stake in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 19,941.6% during the fourth quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 1,321,345 shares of the company's stock worth $104,532,000 after purchasing an additional 1,314,752 shares in the last quarter. Baker BROS. Advisors LP increased its stake in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 216.1% during the fourth quarter. Baker BROS. Advisors LP now owns 1,791,841 shares of the company's stock worth $141,753,000 after purchasing an additional 1,225,043 shares in the last quarter. Marshall Wace LLP increased its stake in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 7,219.3% during the third quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 958,829 shares of the company's stock worth $62,727,000 after purchasing an additional 945,729 shares in the last quarter. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. increased its stake in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 190.3% during the third quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 1,372,225 shares of the company's stock worth $89,771,000 after purchasing an additional 899,476 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.86% of the company's stock.

Ionis Pharmaceuticals Company Profile

Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc is a biotechnology company focused on the discovery and development of RNA-targeted therapies designed to modulate gene expression. The company's proprietary antisense oligonucleotide (ASO) technology enables the selective binding of short synthetic strands of nucleic acids to messenger RNA (mRNA), thereby inhibiting or altering the production of disease-causing proteins. Ionis' pipeline spans a range of therapeutic areas, including neurological disorders, cardiovascular conditions, metabolic diseases and rare genetic disorders.

Since its founding in 1989 by Dr.

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