Ionis Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:IONS) Stock Passes Above 200 Day Moving Average – What’s Next?

Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:IONS) passed above its two hundred day moving average during trading on Friday . The stock has a two hundred day moving average of $63.54 and traded as high as $78.00. Ionis Pharmaceuticals shares last traded at $76.33, with a volume of 3,000,587 shares trading hands.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have commented on IONS shares. HC Wainwright upped their target price on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $100.00 to $110.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, November 10th. Oppenheimer upped their price objective on Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $84.00 to $90.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Royal Bank Of Canada raised their target price on Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $82.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 17th. Cowen restated a “buy” rating on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Wednesday, December 3rd. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, November 1st. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seventeen have assigned a Buy rating, three have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Ionis Pharmaceuticals presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $87.05.

Ionis Pharmaceuticals Trading Down 1.1%

The firm has a market capitalization of $12.36 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -45.17 and a beta of 0.28. The business’s fifty day moving average is $78.66 and its 200 day moving average is $63.71. The company has a quick ratio of 2.78, a current ratio of 2.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.96.

Ionis Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:IONS) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, October 29th. The company reported ($0.80) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of ($1.15) by $0.35. The firm had revenue of $156.72 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $131.75 million. Ionis Pharmaceuticals had a negative return on equity of 44.26% and a negative net margin of 26.45%.The company’s revenue was up 17.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned ($0.95) EPS. Equities analysts predict that Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. will post -3.5 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Richard S. Geary sold 89,249 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, October 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $75.11, for a total transaction of $6,703,492.39. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 59,657 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,480,837.27. This trade represents a 59.94% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Brian Birchler sold 8,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, November 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $76.17, for a total transaction of $609,360.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 48,826 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,719,076.42. This represents a 14.08% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 274,007 shares of company stock worth $21,370,455. 2.60% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Ionis Pharmaceuticals

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. raised its holdings in Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 253.3% during the second quarter. Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. now owns 3,800,000 shares of the company’s stock worth $150,138,000 after acquiring an additional 2,724,400 shares in the last quarter. Marshall Wace LLP raised its stake in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 7,219.3% during the 3rd quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 958,829 shares of the company’s stock worth $62,727,000 after purchasing an additional 945,729 shares in the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. raised its stake in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 190.3% during the 3rd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 1,372,225 shares of the company’s stock worth $89,771,000 after purchasing an additional 899,476 shares in the last quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership acquired a new stake in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $41,223,000. Finally, Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. grew its stake in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 230.4% in the third quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. now owns 878,155 shares of the company’s stock valued at $57,449,000 after buying an additional 612,362 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 93.86% of the company’s stock.

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.