Ionis Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:IONS) Upgraded at BMO Capital Markets

Key Points

• Ionis Pharmaceuticals has been upgraded from "market perform" to "outperform" by BMO Capital Markets, with a price target of $70.00, indicating a potential upside of 14.17%.
• Several other firms, including Jefferies and Barclays, have also raised their price targets for Ionis, with an average target price of $66.40 and a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy."
• Ionis Pharmaceuticals reported a Q2 earnings per share of $0.70, significantly exceeding analyst expectations and showing a year-over-year revenue growth of 100.9% to $452 million.

Ionis Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:IONS - Get Free Report) was upgraded by analysts at BMO Capital Markets from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating in a report issued on Wednesday,Briefing.com Automated Import reports. The firm presently has a $70.00 price target on the stock. BMO Capital Markets' price objective points to a potential upside of 14.17% from the company's previous close.

IONS has been the topic of several other reports. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price objective on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $83.00 to $96.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday. Barclays upped their price target on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $57.00 to $58.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, August 22nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $48.00 to $49.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Monday, August 25th. Raymond James Financial upped their price target on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $60.00 to $64.00 and gave the company a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 31st. Finally, Piper Sandler upped their price target on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $62.00 to $65.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, August 22nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have issued a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $66.40.

Ionis Pharmaceuticals Stock Up 6.6%

NASDAQ:IONS traded up $3.82 on Wednesday, hitting $61.31. 1,757,603 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,844,968. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $42.42 and a 200-day moving average price of $35.77. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.99, a current ratio of 2.87 and a quick ratio of 2.86. Ionis Pharmaceuticals has a 52 week low of $23.95 and a 52 week high of $61.48. The company has a market cap of $9.77 billion, a P/E ratio of -33.32 and a beta of 0.28.

Ionis Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:IONS - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 30th. The company reported $0.70 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.19 by $0.51. Ionis Pharmaceuticals had a negative net margin of 28.25% and a negative return on equity of 45.29%. The firm had revenue of $452.00 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $270.90 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted ($0.45) EPS. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 100.9% on a year-over-year basis. Ionis Pharmaceuticals has set its FY 2025 guidance at EPS. As a group, analysts expect that Ionis Pharmaceuticals will post -3.5 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Ionis Pharmaceuticals

In related news, EVP C Frank Bennett sold 10,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $43.98, for a total transaction of $439,800.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 93,466 shares of the company's stock, valued at $4,110,634.68. This trade represents a 9.67% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Brett P. Monia sold 2,432 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $45.00, for a total transaction of $109,440.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 179,820 shares in the company, valued at $8,091,900. The trade was a 1.33% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 39,568 shares of company stock valued at $1,705,296. Corporate insiders own 2.71% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Ionis Pharmaceuticals

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of IONS. Allworth Financial LP grew its stake in Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 231.8% in the 2nd quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 740 shares of the company's stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 517 shares in the last quarter. Signaturefd LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 45.6% in the 1st quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 1,382 shares of the company's stock worth $42,000 after acquiring an additional 433 shares during the last quarter. Ancora Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals in the 1st quarter worth approximately $60,000. Raiffeisen Bank International AG bought a new stake in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals in the 4th quarter worth approximately $62,000. Finally, CWM LLC lifted its holdings 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 acquiring an additional 384 shares during the last quarter. 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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