Ionis Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:IONS) Upgraded to Overweight at JPMorgan Chase & Co.

Key Points

• JPMorgan Chase & Co. has upgraded Ionis Pharmaceuticals from a "neutral" to an "overweight" rating, establishing a new price target of $80.00, indicating a potential upside of 16.04% from its last close.
• Other analysts have also increased their target prices for Ionis Pharmaceuticals, with Jefferies raising theirs to $96.00, reflecting strong market confidence with a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy."
• Ionis Pharmaceuticals reported a significant revenue increase of 100.9% year-over-year, achieving $452 million in quarterly revenue and exceeding analysts' expectations by $181 million.

Ionis Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:IONS - Get Free Report) was upgraded by equities research analysts at JPMorgan Chase & Co. from a "neutral" rating to an "overweight" rating in a research report issued on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. The firm presently has a $80.00 price objective on the stock, up from their prior price objective of $49.00. JPMorgan Chase & Co.'s target price points to a potential upside of 16.04% from the company's previous close.

A number of other equities research analysts also recently weighed in on the company. Jefferies Financial Group raised their target price on Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $83.00 to $96.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, September 2nd. HC Wainwright reaffirmed a "buy" rating and issued a $95.00 target price on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals in a report on Tuesday, September 23rd. BMO Capital Markets raised Ionis Pharmaceuticals from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and raised their target price for the company from $40.00 to $70.00 in a report on Wednesday, September 3rd. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $77.00 to $82.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, August 22nd. Finally, Barclays increased their price target on Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $78.00 to $82.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 23rd. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have issued a Buy rating, three have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Ionis Pharmaceuticals presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $77.12.

Ionis Pharmaceuticals Price Performance

Ionis Pharmaceuticals stock opened at $68.94 on Wednesday. Ionis Pharmaceuticals has a 12 month low of $23.95 and a 12 month high of $70.14. The stock's 50 day moving average is $53.36 and its 200-day moving average is $41.13. The company has a current ratio of 2.87, a quick ratio of 2.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.99. The company has a market capitalization of $10.99 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -37.47 and a beta of 0.33.

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

Insider Transactions at Ionis Pharmaceuticals

In related news, EVP Richard S. Geary sold 57,900 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $65.24, for a total value of $3,777,396.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 79,657 shares of the company's stock, valued at $5,196,822.68. The trade was a 42.09% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Elizabeth L. Hougen sold 49,800 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $65.26, for a total value of $3,249,948.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 110,500 shares of the company's stock, valued at $7,211,230. The trade was a 31.07% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 734,419 shares of company stock worth $44,529,494. Corporate insiders own 2.71% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Ionis Pharmaceuticals

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. CWM LLC grew its position in 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 purchasing an additional 384 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its position in Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 44.2% in the 3rd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,341 shares of the company's stock worth $88,000 after purchasing an additional 411 shares during the period. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. grew its position in Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 3.9% in the 2nd quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 11,411 shares of the company's stock worth $451,000 after purchasing an additional 424 shares during the period. Signaturefd LLC grew its position in 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 purchasing an additional 433 shares during the period. Finally, Fifth Third Bancorp grew its position in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 4.8% during the 1st quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 9,989 shares of the company's stock valued at $301,000 after acquiring an additional 458 shares during the period. 93.86% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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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