Ionis Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:IONS) Price Target Raised to $83.00 at Bank of America

Key Points

• Bank of America has raised its price target for Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $81.00 to $83.00, indicating a potential upside of 35.27% from the current price, and currently holds a "buy" rating on the stock.
• Ionis Pharmaceuticals reported a significant 100.9% year-over-year increase in revenue, reaching $452 million, and an earnings per share (EPS) of $0.70, surpassing estimates by $0.51.
• Despite strong performance, insider selling has occurred, with CEO Brett P. Monia selling over 203,000 shares, representing a 53.1% decrease in his ownership of the company.

Ionis Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:IONS - Get Free Report) had its price target increased by Bank of America from $81.00 to $83.00 in a report issued on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a "buy" rating on the stock. Bank of America's price target would indicate a potential upside of 35.27% from the company's current price.

Several other research analysts have also issued reports on IONS. HC Wainwright restated a "buy" rating and issued a $95.00 price target on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Tuesday. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price objective on Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $83.00 to $96.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 2nd. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $77.00 to $82.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, August 22nd. Citigroup raised their price objective on Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $69.00 to $84.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 3rd. Finally, Needham & Company LLC raised their price objective on Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $55.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 2nd. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have given a Buy rating, two have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Ionis Pharmaceuticals has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $69.41.

Ionis Pharmaceuticals Stock Up 0.6%

NASDAQ:IONS opened at $61.36 on Tuesday. Ionis Pharmaceuticals has a 12-month low of $23.95 and a 12-month high of $64.71. The company has a quick ratio of 2.86, a current ratio of 2.87 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.99. The firm has a market capitalization of $9.78 billion, a P/E ratio of -33.35 and a beta of 0.28. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $48.10 and its 200-day simple moving average is $38.66.

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Ionis Pharmaceuticals news, CEO Brett P. Monia sold 203,814 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, September 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $60.32, for a total transaction of $12,294,060.48. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 180,009 shares of the company's stock, valued at $10,858,142.88. The trade was a 53.10% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP C Frank Bennett sold 6,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, September 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $59.60, for a total value of $357,600.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 82,679 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,927,668.40. This trade represents a 6.77% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 492,841 shares of company stock valued at $28,595,925 in the last quarter. 2.71% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Ionis Pharmaceuticals

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of IONS. Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. increased its position in Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 253.3% during the second quarter. Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. now owns 3,800,000 shares of the company's stock worth $150,138,000 after buying an additional 2,724,400 shares during the last quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. increased its position in Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 14.2% during the first quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. now owns 16,175,533 shares of the company's stock worth $488,016,000 after buying an additional 2,006,334 shares during the last quarter. BVF Inc. IL acquired a new position in Ionis Pharmaceuticals during the first quarter worth approximately $57,727,000. Vestal Point Capital LP acquired a new position in Ionis Pharmaceuticals during the second quarter worth approximately $19,755,000. Finally, Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals during the second quarter worth approximately $17,790,000. 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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