Morgan Stanley Has Lowered Expectations for Ionis Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:IONS) Stock Price

Key Points

• Morgan Stanley cut its price target on Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $130 to $110, while keeping an overweight rating. The revised target still implies significant upside from the current share price.
• The stock was already under pressure, trading down 7.5% to about $59.46, well below its 50-day and 200-day moving averages. The decline comes amid broader concern after recent late-stage trial setbacks for Ionis and AstraZeneca drugs.
• Other analysts have also lowered expectations, though sentiment remains mostly positive overall: Barclays and Needham cut targets, while the consensus rating is still Moderate Buy with an average target of $97.05. Recent insider sales and heavy institutional ownership were also noted, but they were not the main driver of the move.

Ionis Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:IONS - Get Free Report) had its price objective decreased by research analysts at Morgan Stanley from $130.00 to $110.00 in a report issued on Friday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an "overweight" rating on the stock. Morgan Stanley's target price points to a potential upside of 85.01% from the company's current price.

Other research analysts also recently issued research reports about the stock. Barclays cut their price target on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $115.00 to $90.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Friday. Needham & Company LLC decreased their price objective on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $105.00 to $86.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Thursday. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their target price on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $74.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 24th. TD Cowen restated a "buy" rating and set a $108.00 target price on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals in a report on Monday, June 15th. Finally, HC Wainwright boosted their price target on Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $125.00 to $130.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, June 25th. Eighteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $97.05.

Ionis Pharmaceuticals Trading Down 7.5%

NASDAQ:IONS opened at $59.46 on Friday. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $76.12 and its 200 day moving average price is $77.41. Ionis Pharmaceuticals has a 52 week low of $40.03 and a 52 week high of $86.74. The company has a market capitalization of $9.83 billion, a P/E ratio of -28.54 and a beta of 0.36. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.75, a quick ratio of 4.09 and a current ratio of 4.10.

Ionis Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:IONS - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 29th. The company reported ($0.56) earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.85) by $0.29. The firm had revenue of $246.09 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $195.56 million. Ionis Pharmaceuticals had a negative net margin of 30.91% and a negative return on equity of 58.65%. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 86.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned ($0.93) earnings per share. On average, research analysts forecast that Ionis Pharmaceuticals will post -3.69 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Ionis Pharmaceuticals

In other Ionis Pharmaceuticals news, EVP Holly B. Kordasiewicz sold 362 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $84.30, for a total transaction of $30,516.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 22,096 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,862,692.80. The trade was a 1.61% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CEO Brett P. Monia sold 50,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $80.59, for a total transaction of $4,029,500.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 245,571 shares of the company's stock, valued at $19,790,566.89. This trade represents a 16.92% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders sold 244,038 shares of company stock worth $19,139,399 in the last quarter. 1.81% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Ionis Pharmaceuticals

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in IONS. Capital World Investors increased its position in Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 41.2% in the 4th quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 17,961,299 shares of the company's stock worth $1,420,918,000 after buying an additional 5,238,571 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 2.7% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 3,148,849 shares of the company's stock valued at $249,158,000 after acquiring an additional 82,560 shares during the period. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD boosted its position in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 9.5% in the fourth quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 2,987,840 shares of the company's stock valued at $236,370,000 after acquiring an additional 258,155 shares during the period. Tweedy Browne Co LLC grew its stake in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 0.3% in the third quarter. Tweedy Browne Co LLC now owns 2,901,216 shares of the company's stock worth $189,798,000 after acquiring an additional 9,268 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Baker BROS. Advisors LP grew its stake in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 216.1% in the fourth quarter. Baker BROS. Advisors LP now owns 1,791,841 shares of the company's stock worth $141,753,000 after acquiring an additional 1,225,043 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.86% of the company's stock.

Key Headlines Impacting Ionis Pharmaceuticals

Here are the key news stories impacting Ionis Pharmaceuticals this week:

• Negative Sentiment: Ionis and AstraZeneca reported that the Phase 3 CARDIO-TTRansform trial of eplontersen in ATTR-CM did not meet its primary efficacy endpoint, a significant clinical disappointment that could hurt confidence in the drug’s commercial outlook. Article Title
• Negative Sentiment: Reuters reported that AstraZeneca-Ionis’ Wainua failed to reduce cardiovascular deaths and recurring heart problems in a late-stage study, reinforcing concerns about the company’s cardiovascular franchise. Article Title
• Negative Sentiment: Unusually large put option buying suggests traders are positioning for more downside after the trial failure.
• Negative Sentiment: Recent insider selling by EVP Holly B. Kordasiewicz and Director Allene M. Diaz may add to near-term investor caution, even though the trades were made under pre-arranged 10b5-1 plans.
• Neutral Sentiment: Needham lowered its price target on Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $105 to $86 while maintaining a Buy rating, and Canaccord Genuity cut its target from $110 to $95 but also kept a Buy rating, signaling reduced expectations but continued long-term optimism. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: The company also issued FY 2026 revenue guidance of $875 million to $900 million, which appears broadly in line with consensus and may help offset some of the trial-related selling pressure.

About Ionis Pharmaceuticals

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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