Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:IONS) Given Consensus Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by Brokerages

Posted by Brian Himes on Aug 31st, 2026

Shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:IONS – Get Free Report) have been given a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by the twenty-two research firms that are currently covering the stock, Marketbeat reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, four have assigned a hold recommendation and seventeen have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average twelve-month price objective among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $94.15.

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on the company. Canaccord Genuity Group decreased their price target on Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $110.00 to $95.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, July 10th. Leerink Partners boosted their price objective on Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $122.00 to $129.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, June 25th. BMO Capital Markets started coverage on Ionis Pharmaceuticals in a report on Wednesday, August 19th. They set a “market perform” rating and a $60.00 target price on the stock. 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, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $72.00 to $76.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, August 3rd.

Get Our Latest Report on Ionis Pharmaceuticals

Ionis Pharmaceuticals Price Performance

NASDAQ:IONS opened at $61.05 on Monday. The company has a quick ratio of 7.73, a current ratio of 7.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.07. The firm has a market cap of $10.15 billion, a PE ratio of -17.64 and a beta of 0.41. Ionis Pharmaceuticals has a 12 month low of $42.13 and a 12 month high of $86.74. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $63.05 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $71.29.

Ionis Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:IONS – Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 29th. The company reported ($0.69) earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($1.08) by $0.39. Ionis Pharmaceuticals had a negative net margin of 64.76% and a negative return on equity of 111.08%. The company had revenue of $267.95 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $189.10 million. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.70 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was down 40.7% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Ionis Pharmaceuticals will post -3.57 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Michael R. Hayden bought 5,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, July 31st. The stock was bought at an average cost of $51.60 per share, with a total value of $258,000.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director owned 24,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,238,400. The trade was a 26.32% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Allene M. Diaz sold 10,111 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $85.42, for a total transaction of $863,681.62. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 3,811 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $325,535.62. This trade represents a 72.63% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 225,163 shares of company stock worth $17,711,191. 1.81% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Ionis Pharmaceuticals

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in IONS. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. acquired a new stake in Ionis Pharmaceuticals in the fourth quarter worth about $27,000. Cassaday & Co Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Ionis Pharmaceuticals during the 1st quarter valued at about $30,000. Allworth Financial LP acquired a new position in Ionis Pharmaceuticals during the 2nd quarter valued at about $41,000. Silvant Capital Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals in the 2nd quarter valued at about $43,000. Finally, Quarry LP acquired a new stake in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $38,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.86% of the company’s stock.

About Ionis Pharmaceuticals

(Get Free Report)

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.