Needham & Company LLC Has Lowered Expectations for Ionis Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:IONS) Stock Price

Ionis Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:IONS) had its price target reduced by equities researchers at Needham & Company LLC from $60.00 to $55.00 in a research report issued to clients and investors on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. The firm presently has a “buy” rating on the stock. Needham & Company LLC’s price objective would suggest a potential upside of 73.45% from the company’s previous close.

Other research analysts also recently issued research reports about the company. Redburn Atlantic initiated coverage on Ionis Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Monday, March 31st. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $39.00 target price on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $47.00 to $45.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, March 24th. Citigroup cut their price objective on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $67.00 to $64.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, February 20th. Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and set a $70.00 price target on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Thursday, February 20th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets reduced their price objective on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $60.00 to $45.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, February 20th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating, twelve have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $56.67.

Ionis Pharmaceuticals Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:IONS opened at $31.71 on Wednesday. Ionis Pharmaceuticals has a 12 month low of $23.95 and a 12 month high of $52.34. The stock has a market cap of $5.04 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -10.43 and a beta of 0.29. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $30.54 and its 200 day moving average price is $33.71. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.12, a current ratio of 8.47 and a quick ratio of 8.82.

Ionis Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:IONS) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The company reported ($0.93) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($1.07) by $0.14. The company had revenue of $132.00 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $144.31 million. Ionis Pharmaceuticals had a negative return on equity of 100.05% and a negative net margin of 64.25%. The firm’s revenue was up 10.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned ($0.98) earnings per share. Equities research analysts anticipate that Ionis Pharmaceuticals will post -3.5 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO Brett P. Monia sold 38,843 shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $31.65, for a total value of $1,229,380.95. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 180,683 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,718,616.95. This trade represents a 17.69 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Patrick R. O’neil sold 1,207 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $32.35, for a total value of $39,046.45. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 56,245 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,819,525.75. This trade represents a 2.10 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 47,035 shares of company stock worth $1,487,181 in the last 90 days. Insiders own 2.71% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Ionis Pharmaceuticals

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of IONS. Signaturefd LLC raised its stake in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 160.0% in the fourth quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 949 shares of the company’s stock worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 584 shares during the last quarter. Huntington National Bank raised its position in Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 193.5% in the 4th quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 951 shares of the company’s stock valued at $33,000 after buying an additional 627 shares during the last quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC lifted its stake in Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 183.8% during the 4th quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC now owns 1,036 shares of the company’s stock valued at $36,000 after acquiring an additional 671 shares in the last quarter. Raiffeisen Bank International AG purchased a new position in Ionis Pharmaceuticals during the 4th quarter worth $62,000. Finally, CWM LLC raised its holdings in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 18.7% in the first quarter. CWM LLC now owns 2,435 shares of the company’s stock valued at $73,000 after purchasing an additional 384 shares during the last quarter. 93.86% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.