Ionis Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:IONS) Stock Price Expected to Rise, Royal Bank Of Canada Analyst Says

Key Points

• Royal Bank of Canada raised its price target on Ionis to $100 (from $95) and kept an "outperform" rating, implying about a 33.54% upside from the prior close.
• Other analysts have largely followed suit—multiple firms raised targets and the MarketBeat consensus target is $99.35 with an overall rating of "Moderate Buy" (majority Buy/Outperform).
• Shares trade around $74.89; Ionis beat the quarter's EPS and revenue estimates (EPS -$0.56 vs -$0.85, revenue $246M, up 86.4% YoY) but remains unprofitable with analysts forecasting ~-4.1 EPS for the year, and insiders sold ~864,155 shares (~$67M) over the last 90 days.

Ionis Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:IONS - Get Free Report) had its price target boosted by Royal Bank Of Canada from $95.00 to $100.00 in a research report issued to clients and investors on Thursday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an "outperform" rating on the stock. Royal Bank Of Canada's price target indicates a potential upside of 33.54% from the stock's previous close.

Several other equities analysts have also weighed in on IONS. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $82.00 to $100.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday, January 5th. Leerink Partners upped their price target on Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $102.00 to $104.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 3rd. TD Cowen reduced their price objective on Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $110.00 to $108.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 23rd. Bank of America upped their target price on Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $100.00 to $111.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 9th. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $95.00 to $130.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 21st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seventeen have issued a Buy rating, two have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $99.35.

Ionis Pharmaceuticals Trading Up 0.1%

Shares of IONS traded up $0.06 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $74.89. 837,732 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,178,826. The firm has a market capitalization of $12.36 billion, a P/E ratio of -30.76 and a beta of 0.40. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.76, a current ratio of 3.83 and a quick ratio of 3.81. Ionis Pharmaceuticals has a fifty-two week low of $30.01 and a fifty-two week high of $86.74. The business has a 50-day moving average of $75.46 and a 200-day moving average of $77.28.

Ionis Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:IONS - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The company reported ($0.56) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.85) by $0.29. The firm had revenue of $246.00 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $197.45 million. Ionis Pharmaceuticals had a negative return on equity of 68.82% and a negative net margin of 40.36%.The company's revenue for the quarter was up 86.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned ($0.93) EPS. On average, research analysts expect that Ionis Pharmaceuticals will post -4.1 EPS for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Ionis Pharmaceuticals

In related news, Director Allene M. Diaz sold 54,878 shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $79.35, for a total transaction of $4,354,569.30. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 3,811 shares of the company's stock, valued at $302,402.85. The trade was a 93.51% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Brett P. Monia sold 126,670 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $75.20, for a total transaction of $9,525,584.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 242,662 shares of the company's stock, valued at $18,248,182.40. This represents a 34.30% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold a total of 864,155 shares of company stock worth $67,020,422 over the last ninety days. 2.71% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Ionis Pharmaceuticals

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. acquired a new position in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals in the 4th quarter valued at about $27,000. Golden State Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 198.4% during the 3rd quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC now owns 376 shares of the company's stock worth $25,000 after acquiring an additional 250 shares in the last quarter. Steigerwald Gordon & Koch Inc. purchased a new stake in Ionis Pharmaceuticals in the 3rd quarter worth $25,000. Mather Group LLC. purchased a new position in Ionis Pharmaceuticals during the third quarter valued at $27,000. Finally, Quarry LP acquired a new stake in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals in the third quarter valued at about $38,000. 93.86% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Ionis Pharmaceuticals

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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