Ionis Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:IONS) Downgraded by Wall Street Zen to “Hold”

Wall Street Zen cut shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:IONS) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a report issued on Saturday.

Several other equities analysts have also recently issued reports on IONS. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Oppenheimer boosted their price target on Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $84.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price target on Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $83.00 to $96.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, September 2nd. Piper Sandler lifted their price objective on Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $62.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, August 22nd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and upped their target price for the company from $49.00 to $80.00 in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seventeen have given a Buy rating, three have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell 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 $83.05.

Ionis Pharmaceuticals Stock Performance

Shares of IONS stock opened at $74.30 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $11.84 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -43.96 and a beta of 0.33. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.99, a quick ratio of 2.86 and a current ratio of 2.87. Ionis Pharmaceuticals has a one year low of $23.95 and a one year high of $75.49. The company’s 50-day moving average is $63.97 and its 200 day moving average is $46.65.

Ionis Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:IONS) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, October 29th. The company reported ($0.80) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($1.15) by $0.35. Ionis Pharmaceuticals had a negative net margin of 26.45% and a negative return on equity of 45.29%. The firm had revenue of $157.00 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $131.75 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted ($0.95) earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 17.2% on a year-over-year basis. Ionis Pharmaceuticals has set its FY 2025 guidance at EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that Ionis Pharmaceuticals will post -3.5 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Ionis Pharmaceuticals news, EVP Elizabeth L. Hougen sold 49,800 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $65.26, for a total value of $3,249,948.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 110,500 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,211,230. This trade represents a 31.07% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Brett P. Monia sold 203,814 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, September 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $60.32, for a total value of $12,294,060.48. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 180,009 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,858,142.88. This represents a 53.10% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold 787,770 shares of company stock valued at $48,429,221 in the last 90 days. Insiders own 2.60% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Ionis Pharmaceuticals

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Steigerwald Gordon & Koch Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals during the 3rd quarter worth $25,000. Mather Group LLC. purchased a new position in Ionis Pharmaceuticals during the third quarter valued at $27,000. Allworth Financial LP lifted its position in Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 231.8% during the second quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 740 shares of the company’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 517 shares in the last quarter. Signaturefd LLC grew its holdings in Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 45.6% during the first quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 1,382 shares of the company’s stock valued at $42,000 after purchasing an additional 433 shares during the period. Finally, Meeder Asset Management Inc. increased its position in Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 620.2% in the third quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. now owns 713 shares of the company’s stock worth $47,000 after buying an additional 614 shares in the last quarter. 93.86% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Ionis Pharmaceuticals Company Profile

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.