Ionis Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:IONS) Price Target Raised to $78.00 at Needham & Company LLC

Key Points

• Needham & Company LLC has raised the price target for Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $70.00 to $78.00, indicating a potential upside of 11.49% from the current price.
• Other analysts, including JPMorgan and Morgan Stanley, have also upgraded their ratings and price targets for Ionis, with Morgan Stanley setting a target of $86.00.
• Ionis Pharmaceuticals recently reported a 100.9% year-over-year increase in revenue, reaching $452 million, and earnings per share significantly exceeding analysts' expectations.

Ionis Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:IONS - Get Free Report) had its price target increased by stock analysts at Needham & Company LLC from $70.00 to $78.00 in a research note issued to investors on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has a "buy" rating on the stock. Needham & Company LLC's price target would suggest a potential upside of 11.49% from the stock's current price.

A number of other equities analysts have also recently weighed in on IONS. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded Ionis Pharmaceuticals from a "neutral" rating to an "overweight" rating and increased their price target for the stock from $49.00 to $80.00 in a report on Wednesday. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $71.00 to $86.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Tuesday, September 23rd. Bank of America raised their target price on Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $81.00 to $83.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, September 23rd. Guggenheim raised their target price on Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $90.00 to $92.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, September 23rd. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a "sell (d-)" rating on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals in a report on Wednesday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have assigned a Buy rating, three have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $78.28.

Ionis Pharmaceuticals Trading Up 1.5%

Shares of NASDAQ IONS traded up $1.02 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $69.96. 3,102,562 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,068,710. The firm has a market capitalization of $11.15 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -38.02 and a beta of 0.33. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.99, a quick ratio of 2.86 and a current ratio of 2.87. Ionis Pharmaceuticals has a 52-week low of $23.95 and a 52-week high of $71.87. The company's 50-day moving average is $53.89 and its 200-day moving average is $41.33.

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, EVP Richard S. Geary sold 57,900 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $65.24, for a total transaction of $3,777,396.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 79,657 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $5,196,822.68. This trade represents a 42.09% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Brett P. Monia sold 437 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Monday, October 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $69.26, for a total value of $30,266.62. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 179,572 shares in the company, valued at $12,437,156.72. This trade represents a 0.24% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 755,146 shares of company stock worth $45,969,854 over the last ninety days. Company insiders own 2.60% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Ionis Pharmaceuticals

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Exome Asset Management LLC increased its position in Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 121.0% during the first 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 period. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its position in Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 3,786.5% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 28,993 shares of the company's stock worth $961,000 after buying an additional 28,247 shares during the period. Raymond James Financial Inc. increased its position in Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 40.8% during the first quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. now owns 148,690 shares of the company's stock worth $4,486,000 after buying an additional 43,071 shares during the period. Fifth Third Bancorp increased its position in Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 4.8% during the first quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 9,989 shares of the company's stock worth $301,000 after buying an additional 458 shares during the period. Finally, Edmond DE Rothschild Holding S.A. acquired a new position in Ionis Pharmaceuticals during the first quarter worth approximately $3,747,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.86% of the company's stock.

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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