JPMorgan Chase & Co. Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation for Ionis Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:IONS) Stock

Key Points

• JPMorgan raised Ionis Pharmaceuticals’ price target from $72 to $76 and maintained an “overweight” rating, implying 42.57% upside from the reported $53.31 share price.
• Analyst sentiment remains broadly positive: 18 analysts rate the stock a Buy, three a Hold and one a Sell, producing a “Moderate Buy” consensus and an average target of $94.65.
• Ionis shares traded well below their 12-month high of $86.74, while institutional investors owned 93.86% of the stock; insiders have sold $18.3 million of shares over the past 90 days, despite one director’s recent purchase.

Ionis Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:IONS - Get Free Report) had its price objective lifted by analysts at JPMorgan Chase & Co. from $72.00 to $76.00 in a report issued on Monday,Benzinga reports. The firm presently has an "overweight" rating on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co.'s price target would indicate a potential upside of 42.57% from the stock's current price.

Several other analysts have also recently weighed in on the company. Morgan Stanley dropped their price target on Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $130.00 to $110.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Friday, July 10th. Leerink Partners increased their price objective on Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $122.00 to $129.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, June 25th. Jefferies Financial Group lowered their price objective on Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $113.00 to $90.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, July 9th. Oppenheimer reissued an "outperform" rating and set a $111.00 target price on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals in a report on Thursday, April 30th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $100.00 to $95.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday. Eighteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Ionis Pharmaceuticals presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $94.65.

Ionis Pharmaceuticals Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:IONS traded up $1.54 during trading on Monday, reaching $53.31. 683,052 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,424,336. Ionis Pharmaceuticals has a 12 month low of $40.03 and a 12 month high of $86.74. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $69.55 and a 200-day moving average price of $74.52. The company has a current ratio of 7.89, a quick ratio of 7.73 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.07. The firm has a market cap of $8.86 billion, a PE ratio of -15.38 and a beta of 0.41.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Michael R. Hayden acquired 15,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, July 30th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $53.38 per share, with a total value of $800,700.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 19,000 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,014,220. This trade represents a 375.00% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Eugene Schneider sold 26,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $81.05, for a total transaction of $2,107,300.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 77,114 shares in the company, valued at $6,250,089.70. The trade was a 25.21% 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 have sold 233,163 shares of company stock valued at $18,316,551 over the last 90 days. 1.81% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. lifted its stake in Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 72.5% during the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 652,518 shares of the company's stock worth $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 increased its stake in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 6.4% in 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 increased its stake in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 30.1% in 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 shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals during the 2nd quarter worth $220,000. Finally, Prudential Financial Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 47.8% during the 2nd quarter. Prudential Financial Inc. now owns 9,254 shares of the company's stock worth $341,000 after buying an additional 2,991 shares in the last quarter. 93.86% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.