Ionis Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:IONS) Given New $82.00 Price Target at Wells Fargo & Company

Key Points

• Wells Fargo & Company has increased Ionis Pharmaceuticals' price target from $77.00 to $82.00, indicating a potential upside of 89.64% based on the current stock price.
• Ionis Pharmaceuticals reported a 100.9% increase in revenue for the quarter, with earnings per share of $0.70, significantly exceeding analysts' expectations of $0.19.
• Various analysts have issued mixed ratings, with one strong buy, ten buy, and three hold ratings, leading to an average target price estimated at $60.15.

Ionis Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:IONS - Get Free Report) had its price target raised by equities research analysts at Wells Fargo & Company from $77.00 to $82.00 in a research note issued to investors on Friday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an "overweight" rating on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company's target price would suggest a potential upside of 89.64% from the stock's current price.

Other research analysts also recently issued reports about the company. Guggenheim reduced their price objective on Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $65.00 to $64.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Morgan Stanley raised Ionis Pharmaceuticals from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and increased their price target for the stock from $55.00 to $62.00 in a research report on Thursday, July 31st. HC Wainwright raised their price target on Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $65.00 to $70.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $45.00 to $48.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday, June 12th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC cut their target price on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $60.00 to $55.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 30th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have assigned a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Ionis Pharmaceuticals currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $60.15.

Ionis Pharmaceuticals Trading Up 1.0%

Shares of IONS opened at $43.24 on Friday. Ionis Pharmaceuticals has a 1-year low of $23.95 and a 1-year high of $50.43. The company has a 50-day moving average of $41.23 and a 200 day moving average of $35.04. The firm has a market capitalization of $6.89 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -23.50 and a beta of 0.25. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.99, a current ratio of 2.87 and a quick ratio of 2.86.

Ionis Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:IONS - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, July 30th. The company reported $0.70 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.19 by $0.51. The business had revenue of $452.00 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $270.90 million. Ionis Pharmaceuticals had a negative net margin of 28.25% and a negative return on equity of 45.29%. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned ($0.45) EPS. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 100.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Ionis Pharmaceuticals has set its FY 2025 guidance at EPS. On average, research analysts expect that Ionis Pharmaceuticals will post -3.5 EPS for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Ionis Pharmaceuticals news, EVP Richard S. Geary sold 10,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $42.86, for a total value of $428,600.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 89,492 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,835,627.12. The trade was a 10.05% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director B Lynne Parshall sold 5,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $41.93, for a total transaction of $209,650.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 86,344 shares in the company, valued at $3,620,403.92. This represents a 5.47% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 38,141 shares of company stock valued at $1,644,606 in the last three months. 2.60% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Ionis Pharmaceuticals

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Marex Group plc purchased a new stake in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals during the 2nd quarter valued at $3,294,000. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co increased its position in Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 6.0% during the 2nd quarter. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co now owns 46,501 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,841,000 after buying an additional 2,648 shares in the last quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC raised its stake in Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 0.3% in the second quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC now owns 237,931 shares of the company's stock valued at $9,401,000 after buying an additional 798 shares during the last quarter. Vestal Point Capital LP purchased a new stake in Ionis Pharmaceuticals in the second quarter valued at about $19,755,000. Finally, Vident Advisory LLC acquired a new stake in Ionis Pharmaceuticals in the second quarter worth about $474,000. 93.86% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.

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