Ionis Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:IONS) Upgraded by Morgan Stanley to "Overweight" Rating

Key Points

• Morgan Stanley upgraded Ionis Pharmaceuticals from an "equal weight" to an "overweight" rating with a target price of $62.00, indicating a potential upside of 42.96% from its current stock price.
• The consensus rating for Ionis Pharmaceuticals is classified as a "Moderate Buy," with ten analysts issuing a buy rating and an average price target of $56.15.
• Ionis Pharmaceuticals reported a significant earnings surprise in its last quarterly results, posting $0.70 EPS against an expected $0.19, alongside a revenue of $452 million, which was substantially higher than the forecasted $270.90 million.

Ionis Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:IONS - Get Free Report) was upgraded by analysts at Morgan Stanley from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating in a research report issued on Thursday, Marketbeat.com reports. The firm currently has a $62.00 price target on the stock, up from their prior price target of $55.00. Morgan Stanley's price target would indicate a potential upside of 44.09% from the company's current price.

Other research analysts also recently issued research reports about the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $45.00 to $48.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday, June 12th. Needham & Company LLC reduced their price target on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $60.00 to $55.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 30th. Guggenheim reduced their price target on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $65.00 to $64.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Barclays upgraded shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and upped their price target for the stock from $51.00 to $57.00 in a research report on Tuesday, July 1st. Finally, HC Wainwright reissued a "buy" rating and set a $50.00 price objective on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals in a report on Thursday, June 26th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating, ten have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Ionis Pharmaceuticals currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $57.79.

Ionis Pharmaceuticals Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:IONS traded up $0.05 on Thursday, hitting $43.03. The stock had a trading volume of 2,315,768 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,751,200. Ionis Pharmaceuticals has a twelve month low of $23.95 and a twelve month high of $50.43. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.99, a quick ratio of 9.62 and a current ratio of 2.87. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $39.07 and its 200-day moving average price is $34.12. The company has a market capitalization of $6.86 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -23.39 and a beta of 0.25.

Ionis Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:IONS - Get Free Report) last issued 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. The business had revenue of $452.00 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $270.90 million. Ionis Pharmaceuticals had a negative net margin of 28.25% and a negative return on equity of 45.29%. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 100.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned ($0.45) EPS. On average, equities research analysts predict that Ionis Pharmaceuticals will post -3.5 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Ionis Pharmaceuticals

In related news, CEO Brett P. Monia sold 2,432 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $45.00, for a total value of $109,440.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 179,820 shares in the company, valued at $8,091,900. This trade represents a 1.33% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 2.60% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Ionis Pharmaceuticals

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of IONS. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC raised its position in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 1.7% in the 4th quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC now owns 21,826 shares of the company's stock valued at $763,000 after acquiring an additional 373 shares during the period. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Ionis Pharmaceuticals during the 4th quarter worth approximately $59,948,000. Franklin Resources Inc. increased its stake in Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 31.0% during the 4th quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 13,301 shares of the company's stock worth $465,000 after purchasing an additional 3,146 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 0.7% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,687,248 shares of the company's stock worth $93,976,000 after purchasing an additional 18,890 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Huntington National Bank increased its stake in Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 193.5% during the 4th quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 951 shares of the company's stock worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 627 shares in the last quarter. 93.86% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.