Brokerages Set Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:IONS) Target Price at $58.25

Shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:IONS - Get Free Report) have been assigned an average rating of "Moderate Buy" from the eighteen analysts that are currently covering the stock, Marketbeat.com reports. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating, thirteen have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating on the company. The average 12 month price target among analysts that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $58.25.

IONS has been the subject of several analyst reports. Redburn Atlantic initiated coverage on Ionis Pharmaceuticals in a report on Monday, March 31st. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $39.00 target price for the company. Needham & Company LLC dropped their target price on Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $60.00 to $55.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $45.00 to $48.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, June 12th. Barclays upgraded Ionis Pharmaceuticals from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and increased their price target for the stock from $51.00 to $57.00 in a report on Tuesday. Finally, HC Wainwright reiterated a "buy" rating and set a $50.00 price target on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals in a report on Thursday, June 26th.

Ionis Pharmaceuticals Price Performance

NASDAQ IONS traded down $0.61 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $42.98. The stock had a trading volume of 1,335,953 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,604,922. The firm's 50 day moving average is $35.24 and its 200 day moving average is $33.12. Ionis Pharmaceuticals has a twelve month low of $23.95 and a twelve month high of $52.34. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.63, a current ratio of 9.66 and a quick ratio of 9.62. The stock has a market capitalization of $6.84 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -14.37 and a beta of 0.23.

Ionis Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:IONS - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The company reported ($0.93) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($1.07) by $0.14. The company had revenue of $132.00 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $144.31 million. Ionis Pharmaceuticals had a negative return on equity of 91.85% and a negative net margin of 63.65%. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 10.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned ($0.98) EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that Ionis Pharmaceuticals will post -3.5 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Ionis Pharmaceuticals

In other Ionis Pharmaceuticals news, Director Michael R. Hayden bought 15,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 1st. The shares were acquired at an average price of $31.86 per share, with a total value of $477,900.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 50,219 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,599,977.34. The trade was a 42.59% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 2.60% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Ionis Pharmaceuticals

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Focus Partners Wealth raised its position in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 30.1% during the 1st quarter. Focus Partners Wealth now owns 9,832 shares of the company's stock worth $297,000 after acquiring an additional 2,277 shares in the last quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC grew its stake in Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 6.4% during the 1st quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 659,435 shares of the company's stock worth $19,895,000 after buying an additional 39,794 shares during the last quarter. Exome Asset Management LLC grew its stake in Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 121.0% during the 1st quarter. Exome Asset Management LLC now owns 135,616 shares of the company's stock worth $4,092,000 after buying an additional 74,249 shares during the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. grew its stake in Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 72.5% during the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 652,518 shares of the company's stock worth $19,686,000 after buying an additional 274,310 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Teza Capital Management LLC grew its stake in Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 20.2% during the 1st quarter. Teza Capital Management LLC now owns 10,244 shares of the company's stock worth $309,000 after buying an additional 1,719 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.