Ionis Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:IONS) Rating Increased to Hold at BMO Capital Markets

Key Points

• BMO Capital Markets upgraded Ionis Pharmaceuticals to “Hold.” Despite the upgrade, analysts maintain a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating, with an average price target of $94.15.
• Ionis reported quarterly EPS of -$0.69, beating estimates of -$1.08, while revenue of $267.95 million exceeded expectations but declined 40.7% year over year.
• The stock opened at $60.80, versus a 52-week range of $41.71 to $86.74. Insiders sold shares worth $18.3 million over the past 90 days, while institutional investors own 93.86% of the company.

Ionis Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:IONS - Get Free Report) was upgraded by BMO Capital Markets to a "hold" rating in a report released on Tuesday,Zacks.com reports.

Several other equities research analysts have also recently weighed in on the company. HC Wainwright reduced their price target on Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $125.00 to $115.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, July 30th. Leerink Partners boosted their target price on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $122.00 to $129.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, June 25th. Wolfe Research reaffirmed a "peer perform" rating on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Thursday, July 16th. Morgan Stanley decreased their price target on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $130.00 to $110.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, July 10th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada lowered their price target on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $100.00 to $85.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, July 13th. Seventeen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $94.15.

Ionis Pharmaceuticals Stock Performance

NASDAQ IONS opened at $60.80 on Tuesday. Ionis Pharmaceuticals has a 52-week low of $41.71 and a 52-week high of $86.74. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.07, a quick ratio of 7.73 and a current ratio of 7.89. The company has a market capitalization of $10.10 billion, a P/E ratio of -17.57 and a beta of 0.41. The company has a fifty day moving average of $64.77 and a 200-day moving average of $72.41.

Ionis Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:IONS - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 29th. The company reported ($0.69) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of ($1.08) by $0.39. The company had revenue of $267.95 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $189.10 million. Ionis Pharmaceuticals had a negative net margin of 64.76% and a negative return on equity of 111.08%. The firm's revenue was down 40.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.70 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Ionis Pharmaceuticals will post -3.57 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, EVP Eugene Schneider sold 26,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $81.05, for a total transaction of $2,107,300.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 77,114 shares in the company, valued at $6,250,089.70. This trade represents a 25.21% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CEO Brett P. Monia sold 50,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 transaction, the chief executive officer owned 245,571 shares of the company's stock, valued at $19,790,566.89. This represents a 16.92% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders have sold a total of 233,163 shares of company stock valued at $18,316,551 in the last 90 days. 1.81% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Ionis Pharmaceuticals

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Handelsbanken Fonder AB lifted its position in Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 79.1% during the second quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB now owns 383,211 shares of the company's stock valued at $30,385,000 after acquiring an additional 169,300 shares during the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC raised its stake in Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 318.1% in the first quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 103,141 shares of the company's stock valued at $7,745,000 after buying an additional 78,470 shares during the last quarter. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. boosted its holdings in Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 51.7% in the fourth quarter. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 42,394 shares of the company's stock worth $3,354,000 after acquiring an additional 14,455 shares in the last quarter. TimesSquare Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in Ionis Pharmaceuticals in the second quarter worth about $48,690,000. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. grew its stake in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 19,941.6% during the fourth quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 1,321,345 shares of the company's stock worth $104,532,000 after acquiring an additional 1,314,752 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.86% of the company's stock.

Ionis Pharmaceuticals Company Profile

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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