Ionis Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:IONS) Reaches New 12-Month High - Here's What Happened

Key Points

• Ionis Pharmaceuticals shares reached a new 52-week high of $64.97 during trading, indicating positive investor sentiment and significant trading activity with 178,357 shares exchanged.
• Several research analysts have upgraded their ratings and price targets for the stock, with Guggenheim raising its target from $90.00 to $92.00, while BMO Capital Markets adjusted its target from $40.00 to $70.00.
• The company reported strong quarterly earnings, boasting revenue of $452 million and an EPS of $0.70, significantly outperforming analyst estimates.

Shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:IONS - Get Free Report) reached a new 52-week high during trading on Tuesday . The stock traded as high as $64.97 and last traded at $64.95, with a volume of 178357 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $64.15.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Guggenheim increased their price objective on Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $90.00 to $92.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 23rd. BMO Capital Markets upgraded Ionis Pharmaceuticals from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and increased their price target for the stock from $40.00 to $70.00 in a report on Wednesday, September 3rd. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Saturday, August 16th. Bank of America increased their target price on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $81.00 to $83.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 23rd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $77.00 to $82.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, August 22nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have given a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Ionis Pharmaceuticals currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $73.88.

Ionis Pharmaceuticals Stock Up 1.1%

The firm has a market cap of $10.34 billion, a PE ratio of -35.18 and a beta of 0.28. 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 business has a 50-day moving average price of $50.25 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $39.73.

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, beating analysts' consensus estimates 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 company had revenue of $452.00 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $270.90 million. During the same quarter last year, the company earned ($0.45) EPS. Ionis Pharmaceuticals'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, equities research analysts expect that Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. will post -3.5 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, EVP Patrick R. O'neil sold 1,700 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, September 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $64.58, for a total transaction of $109,786.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 57,130 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,689,455.40. The trade was a 2.89% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Shannon L. Devers sold 3,162 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, September 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $61.02, for a total transaction of $192,945.24. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 15,009 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $915,849.18. The trade was a 17.40% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 492,841 shares of company stock worth $28,595,925. Corporate insiders own 2.60% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Ionis Pharmaceuticals

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Allworth Financial LP lifted its holdings in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 231.8% in the 2nd quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 740 shares of the company's stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 517 shares during the last quarter. Signaturefd LLC lifted its stake in Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 45.6% in the first quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 1,382 shares of the company's stock valued at $42,000 after buying an additional 433 shares during the last quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 151.3% in the second quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 1,872 shares of the company's stock valued at $74,000 after acquiring an additional 1,127 shares during the period. Ancora Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals during the first quarter worth approximately $60,000. Finally, Allianz SE purchased a new stake in Ionis Pharmaceuticals in the 2nd quarter valued at $83,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors 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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