Ionis Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:IONS) Lowered to "Sell" Rating by Wall Street Zen

Key Points

• Wall Street Zen downgraded Ionis Pharmaceuticals from “hold” to “sell,” contrasting with the broader analyst consensus of “Moderate Buy” from 18 buy, three hold and one sell ratings, with an average price target of $94.85.
• Ionis shares opened at $51.77, well below their 50-day and 200-day moving averages of $69.55 and $74.57, respectively. The stock’s 12-month trading range is $40.03 to $86.74.
• The company exceeded quarterly earnings and revenue expectations, reporting $246.1 million in revenue and a $0.56 loss per share, while revenue increased 86.4% year over year. Director Michael Hayden purchased $800,700 in shares, although insiders sold more than $18.3 million of stock during the quarter.

Ionis Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:IONS - Get Free Report) was downgraded by Wall Street Zen from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report released on Saturday.

A number of other research analysts also recently commented on IONS. Canaccord Genuity Group dropped their price objective on Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $110.00 to $95.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, July 10th. Wolfe Research reaffirmed a "peer perform" rating on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals in a report on Thursday, July 16th. Oppenheimer reiterated an "outperform" rating and issued a $111.00 price target on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. HC Wainwright cut their price objective on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $125.00 to $115.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday. Finally, Leerink Partners boosted their price objective on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $122.00 to $129.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, June 25th. Eighteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Ionis Pharmaceuticals currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $94.85.

Ionis Pharmaceuticals Price Performance

Ionis Pharmaceuticals stock opened at $51.77 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $8.60 billion, a P/E ratio of -14.96 and a beta of 0.36. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $69.55 and a 200-day simple moving average of $74.57. Ionis Pharmaceuticals has a 12-month low of $40.03 and a 12-month high of $86.74. The company has a current ratio of 7.89, a quick ratio of 4.09 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.07.

Ionis Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:IONS - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The company reported ($0.56) EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.85) by $0.29. Ionis Pharmaceuticals had a negative net margin of 64.76% and a negative return on equity of 111.08%. The firm had revenue of $246.09 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $195.56 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted ($0.93) earnings per share. The company's revenue was up 86.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts expect that Ionis Pharmaceuticals will post -3.69 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Michael R. Hayden purchased 15,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, July 30th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $53.38 per share, for a total transaction of $800,700.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 19,000 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,014,220. The trade was a 375.00% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Brett P. Monia sold 50,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $80.59, for a total value of $4,029,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 245,571 shares in the company, valued at $19,790,566.89. This trade represents a 16.92% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders sold a total of 233,163 shares of company stock valued at $18,316,551 in the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 1.81% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Capital World Investors grew its position in Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 41.2% in the 4th quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 17,961,299 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,420,918,000 after buying an additional 5,238,571 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 2.7% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 3,148,849 shares of the company's stock worth $249,158,000 after buying an additional 82,560 shares during the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD raised its position in Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 9.5% during the 4th quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 2,987,840 shares of the company's stock worth $236,370,000 after buying an additional 258,155 shares during the last quarter. Baker BROS. Advisors LP lifted its stake in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 216.1% in the 4th quarter. Baker BROS. Advisors LP now owns 1,791,841 shares of the company's stock worth $141,753,000 after acquiring an additional 1,225,043 shares during the period. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 1.4% in the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,541,841 shares of the company's stock worth $121,975,000 after acquiring an additional 21,890 shares during the period. 93.86% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Key Headlines Impacting Ionis Pharmaceuticals

Here are the key news stories impacting Ionis Pharmaceuticals this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Ionis beat Wall Street’s second-quarter revenue and earnings expectations, helped by commercial growth despite difficult year-over-year comparisons. Management also reaffirmed its 2026 outlook, supporting confidence in the company’s operating trajectory. Zacks Q2 earnings report
• Positive Sentiment: Director Michael R. Hayden bought 15,000 shares for approximately $800,700 on July 30 and another 5,000 shares for $258,000 on July 31. The purchases materially increased his ownership and may be viewed as a signal of confidence in Ionis’s valuation and prospects. SEC insider-trading filing
• Neutral Sentiment: Wells Fargo lowered its price target from $100 to $95 while maintaining an “overweight” rating. The reduced target reflects more cautious valuation expectations, but the rating remains bullish. Benzinga analyst report
• Neutral Sentiment: HC Wainwright cut its target from $125 to $115 but retained a “buy” rating, similarly indicating lower near-term valuation expectations while maintaining a positive view of the stock. StreetInsider analyst report
• Negative Sentiment: Pomerantz LLP announced an investigation into potential claims on behalf of Ionis investors. Although the announcement does not establish wrongdoing, it adds legal and reputational uncertainty and may weigh on sentiment. Pomerantz investor alert

About Ionis Pharmaceuticals

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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