Ionis Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:IONS) Upgraded to Strong-Buy at Canaccord Genuity Group

Key Points

• Canaccord Genuity upgraded Ionis to a Strong‑Buy, and the analyst mix overall is 1 Strong Buy, 17 Buy, 2 Hold and 1 Sell, giving a MarketBeat consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" with a $96.90 consensus target price.
• Ionis reported quarterly EPS of ($1.41), missing the ($1.23) estimate while beating revenue at $203.3M, but the company remains unprofitable with a negative net margin and analysts forecast -4.03 EPS for the fiscal year.
• Insiders sold 868,132 shares worth about $67.3M in the last quarter, even as institutional ownership is very high (~93.9%) and large funds like Goldman Sachs and UBS have recently increased stakes.

Ionis Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:IONS - Get Free Report) was upgraded by analysts at Canaccord Genuity Group to a "strong-buy" rating in a note issued to investors on Monday,Zacks.com reports.

Several other research firms also recently commented on IONS. Weiss Ratings reissued a "sell (d-)" rating on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Thursday, January 22nd. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their target price on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $73.00 to $77.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, February 26th. Barclays boosted their target price on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $95.00 to $106.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, March 26th. HC Wainwright boosted their target price on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $110.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 25th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC boosted their target price on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $103.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 25th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seventeen have given a Buy rating, two have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $96.90.

Ionis Pharmaceuticals Stock Down 0.1%

Ionis Pharmaceuticals stock opened at $74.78 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $12.35 billion, a PE ratio of -30.65 and a beta of 0.40. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.76, a quick ratio of 3.81 and a current ratio of 3.83. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $76.46 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $77.17. Ionis Pharmaceuticals has a twelve month low of $28.46 and a twelve month high of $86.74.

Ionis Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:IONS - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 25th. The company reported ($1.41) earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($1.23) by ($0.18). The company had revenue of $203.33 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $156.07 million. Ionis Pharmaceuticals had a negative net margin of 40.36% and a negative return on equity of 68.82%. The firm's quarterly revenue was down 10.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted ($0.66) EPS. On average, research analysts predict that Ionis Pharmaceuticals will post -4.03 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Ionis Pharmaceuticals

In related news, EVP Brian Birchler sold 973 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Thursday, April 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $75.04, for a total transaction of $73,013.92. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 67,500 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $5,065,200. This represents a 1.42% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Also, EVP Shannon L. Devers sold 6,193 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Thursday, April 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $74.05, for a total transaction of $458,591.65. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 16,348 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,210,569.40. This represents a 27.47% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders sold 868,132 shares of company stock worth $67,343,911 in the last quarter. 2.71% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Ionis Pharmaceuticals

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of IONS. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. raised its stake in Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 72.5% during the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 652,518 shares of the company's stock valued at $19,686,000 after purchasing an additional 274,310 shares during the last quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC raised its stake in Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 6.4% during the 1st quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 659,435 shares of the company's stock valued at $19,895,000 after purchasing an additional 39,794 shares during the last quarter. Focus Partners Wealth raised its stake in Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 30.1% during the 1st quarter. Focus Partners Wealth now owns 9,832 shares of the company's stock valued at $297,000 after purchasing an additional 2,277 shares during the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. acquired a new position in Ionis Pharmaceuticals during the 2nd quarter valued at $220,000. Finally, Prudential Financial Inc. raised its stake in Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 47.8% during the 2nd quarter. Prudential Financial Inc. now owns 9,254 shares of the company's stock valued at $341,000 after purchasing an additional 2,991 shares during the last quarter. 93.86% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Ionis Pharmaceuticals Company Profile

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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