HC Wainwright Reaffirms Buy Rating for Ionis Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:IONS)

HC Wainwright reissued their buy rating on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:IONS - Free Report) in a research report report published on Thursday morning,Benzinga reports. They currently have a $50.00 price objective on the stock.

A number of other equities research analysts also recently weighed in on the company. Wall Street Zen upgraded Ionis Pharmaceuticals to a "sell" rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 18th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $45.00 to $48.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, June 12th. Guggenheim reduced their price target 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. Redburn Atlantic initiated coverage on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Monday, March 31st. They set a "neutral" rating and a $39.00 price target on the stock. Finally, 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. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating, twelve have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $57.59.

Ionis Pharmaceuticals Price Performance

Shares of IONS stock traded up $0.02 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $39.80. The stock had a trading volume of 2,481,354 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,590,564. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $33.97 and its 200 day simple moving average is $32.99. The firm has a market capitalization of $6.33 billion, a PE ratio of -13.31 and a beta of 0.18. Ionis Pharmaceuticals has a 12 month low of $23.95 and a 12 month high of $52.34. The company has a current ratio of 9.66, a quick ratio of 9.62 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.63.

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

Insider Transactions at Ionis Pharmaceuticals

In related news, Director Michael R. Hayden acquired 15,000 shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 1st. The stock was bought at an average price of $31.86 per share, with a total value of $477,900.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 50,219 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,599,977.34. This represents a 42.59% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders own 2.60% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Ionis Pharmaceuticals

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of IONS. Signaturefd LLC raised its holdings in Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 160.0% in 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 raised its holdings in Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 193.5% in the 4th quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 951 shares of the company's stock worth $33,000 after acquiring an additional 627 shares during the last quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC lifted its position in Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 183.8% in the 4th quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC now owns 1,036 shares of the company's stock valued at $36,000 after acquiring an additional 671 shares in the last quarter. Raiffeisen Bank International AG bought a new stake in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals in the 4th quarter worth $62,000. Finally, Ancora Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals in the 1st quarter worth $60,000. Hedge funds and other 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.