Leerink Partnrs Weighs in on Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc.'s Q1 2024 Earnings (NASDAQ:IONS)

Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:IONS - Free Report) - Research analysts at Leerink Partnrs lowered their Q1 2024 earnings per share estimates for Ionis Pharmaceuticals in a note issued to investors on Tuesday, April 16th. Leerink Partnrs analyst M. Foroohar now forecasts that the company will post earnings per share of ($0.84) for the quarter, down from their prior estimate of ($0.80). The consensus estimate for Ionis Pharmaceuticals' current full-year earnings is ($4.00) per share. Leerink Partnrs also issued estimates for Ionis Pharmaceuticals' Q2 2024 earnings at ($0.82) EPS, Q3 2024 earnings at ($0.89) EPS, Q4 2024 earnings at ($0.96) EPS, FY2025 earnings at ($2.17) EPS and FY2028 earnings at $1.01 EPS.

Ionis Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:IONS - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 21st. The company reported ($0.06) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.78) by $0.72. The business had revenue of $325.00 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $176.01 million. Ionis Pharmaceuticals had a negative return on equity of 90.29% and a negative net margin of 46.32%. Ionis Pharmaceuticals's quarterly revenue was up 113.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company earned ($0.37) earnings per share.

IONS has been the subject of a number of other reports. Oppenheimer raised their price target on Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $72.00 to $75.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 9th. Piper Sandler raised their price target on Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $62.00 to $63.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, February 22nd. StockNews.com upgraded Ionis Pharmaceuticals from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, February 24th. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a "buy" rating and issued a $60.00 price objective on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Tuesday, April 9th. Finally, Bank of America raised Ionis Pharmaceuticals from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and raised their price objective for the company from $52.00 to $62.00 in a research report on Tuesday, January 2nd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $56.08.

Ionis Pharmaceuticals Stock Down 0.2 %

IONS stock traded down $0.10 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $40.81. The company had a trading volume of 990,649 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,158,269. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.18, a current ratio of 5.90 and a quick ratio of 5.83. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $44.07 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $47.30. The company has a market capitalization of $5.95 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -15.94 and a beta of 0.39. Ionis Pharmaceuticals has a 52 week low of $34.32 and a 52 week high of $54.44.

Institutional Trading of Ionis Pharmaceuticals

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Diversified Trust Co bought a new stake in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals during the 1st quarter worth approximately $261,000. Sunbelt Securities Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals during the 1st quarter worth approximately $44,000. International Assets Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 2,048.9% during the 1st quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 7,607 shares of the company's stock worth $334,000 after acquiring an additional 7,253 shares during the period. Mather Group LLC. bought a new stake in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals during the 1st quarter worth approximately $29,000. Finally, Kapitalo Investimentos Ltda bought a new stake in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals during the 4th quarter worth approximately $289,000. Institutional investors own 93.86% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Patrick R. O'neil sold 6,450 shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $51.75, for a total transaction of $333,787.50. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 46,802 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,422,003.50. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other news, CEO Brett P. Monia sold 2,285 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $51.75, for a total value of $118,248.75. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 151,851 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,858,289.25. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Patrick R. O'neil sold 6,450 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $51.75, for a total transaction of $333,787.50. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 46,802 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,422,003.50. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 51,434 shares of company stock valued at $2,556,127. Insiders own 2.65% 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.