Ionis Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:IONS) Shares Gap Up on Earnings Beat

Key Points

• Ionis Pharmaceuticals shares gapped up to $44.97 after reporting an impressive EPS of $0.70, significantly surpassing analysts' estimates of $0.19 and reporting a 100.9% increase in revenue year-over-year.
• Despite a negative net margin of 63.65%, analysts have mixed opinions with two sell ratings, three hold ratings, and nine buy ratings, leading to an average target price of $55.67.
• Insider activity saw CEO Brett P. Monia selling 1,160 shares while Director Michael R. Hayden purchased 15,000 shares, reflecting varying confidence among the company's top executives.

Shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:IONS - Get Free Report) gapped up before the market opened on Wednesday after the company announced better than expected quarterly earnings. The stock had previously closed at $41.48, but opened at $44.97. Ionis Pharmaceuticals shares last traded at $43.71, with a volume of 994,321 shares trading hands.

The company reported $0.70 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.19 by $0.51. The business had revenue of $452.00 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $270.90 million. Ionis Pharmaceuticals had a negative net margin of 28.25% and a negative return on equity of 46.39%. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 100.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted ($0.45) earnings per share.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages recently issued reports on IONS. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $45.00 to $48.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday, June 12th. Morgan Stanley raised Ionis Pharmaceuticals from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $55.00 to $62.00 in a report on Thursday. Raymond James Financial lifted their price objective on Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $60.00 to $64.00 and gave the company a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Thursday. HC Wainwright reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $65.00 target price (up from $50.00) on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Thursday. Finally, Guggenheim dropped their target price on Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $65.00 to $64.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Ionis Pharmaceuticals currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $57.79.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Brett P. Monia sold 1,160 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Friday, July 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $41.74, for a total transaction of $48,418.40. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 179,820 shares in the company, valued at $7,505,686.80. The trade was a 0.64% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 2.60% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Ionis Pharmaceuticals

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC grew its position in Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 1.7% during the fourth quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC now owns 21,826 shares of the company's stock worth $763,000 after buying an additional 373 shares in the last quarter. CWM LLC grew its stake in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 18.7% in the 1st quarter. CWM LLC now owns 2,435 shares of the company's stock worth $73,000 after buying an additional 384 shares during the last quarter. Signaturefd LLC boosted its stake in Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 45.6% during the 1st quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 1,382 shares of the company's stock valued at $42,000 after purchasing an additional 433 shares during the last quarter. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina lifted its holdings in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 0.6% during the 4th quarter. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina now owns 68,803 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,405,000 after buying an additional 440 shares during the period. Finally, Fifth Third Bancorp raised its holdings in Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 4.8% in the 1st quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 9,989 shares of the company's stock worth $301,000 after purchasing an additional 458 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.86% of the company's stock.

Ionis Pharmaceuticals Price Performance

The company has a current ratio of 9.66, a quick ratio of 9.62 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.63. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $38.87 and a 200-day simple moving average of $34.05. The firm has a market cap of $6.82 billion, a PE ratio of -23.28 and a beta of 0.23.

Ionis Pharmaceuticals Company Profile

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.