Ionis Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:IONS) Stock Price Up 7.9% - Still a Buy?

Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:IONS - Get Free Report) shares rose 7.9% on Wednesday . The stock traded as high as $42.81 and last traded at $43.09. Approximately 1,430,930 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 10% from the average daily volume of 1,590,175 shares. The stock had previously closed at $39.94.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Needham & Company LLC reduced their price objective on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $60.00 to $55.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 30th. Guggenheim reduced their price objective on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $65.00 to $64.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. HC Wainwright reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $50.00 price objective on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Thursday, June 26th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals to a "sell" rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 18th. Finally, Barclays raised shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and raised their target price for the company from $51.00 to $57.00 in a research note on Tuesday. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating, thirteen have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Ionis Pharmaceuticals currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $58.25.

Ionis Pharmaceuticals Stock Down 1.4%

The firm has a market capitalization of $6.84 billion, a PE ratio of -14.37 and a beta of 0.23. The business's 50 day simple moving average is $35.24 and its 200 day simple moving average is $33.12. The company has a current ratio of 9.66, a quick ratio of 9.62 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.63.

Ionis Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:IONS - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 30th. The company reported ($0.93) EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of ($1.07) by $0.14. Ionis Pharmaceuticals had a negative net margin of 63.65% and a negative return on equity of 91.85%. The business had revenue of $132.00 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $144.31 million. During the same period last year, the company posted ($0.98) EPS. The business's revenue was up 10.9% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. will post -3.5 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Michael R. Hayden bought 15,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 1st. The stock was purchased at an average price of $31.86 per share, for a total transaction of $477,900.00. Following the acquisition, the director owned 50,219 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,599,977.34. The trade was a 42.59% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Company insiders own 2.60% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Ionis Pharmaceuticals

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 3,786.5% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 28,993 shares of the company's stock worth $961,000 after acquiring an additional 28,247 shares during the last quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC lifted its holdings 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 worth $763,000 after acquiring an additional 373 shares during the last quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 11.1% in the 4th quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 10,994 shares of the company's stock worth $384,000 after acquiring an additional 1,101 shares during the last quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals in the 4th quarter worth about $829,000. Finally, Fifth Third Bancorp lifted its holdings in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 458 shares during the last quarter. 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.