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

Shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:IONS) have been given a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” by the seventeen brokerages that are currently covering the company, MarketBeat reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating, eleven have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. The average 12-month price objective among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $60.06.

A number of research firms have issued reports on IONS. TD Cowen lifted their price objective on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $54.00 to $59.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday. Needham & Company LLC restated a “buy” rating and set a $60.00 price target on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals in a report on Monday. Bank of America upped their price objective on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $67.00 to $68.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Oppenheimer lifted their target price on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $72.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 9th. Finally, William Blair reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals in a report on Tuesday, April 9th.

Ionis Pharmaceuticals Trading Down 0.4 %

IONS opened at $50.43 on Wednesday. Ionis Pharmaceuticals has a fifty-two week low of $35.95 and a fifty-two week high of $54.44. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.15, a quick ratio of 7.28 and a current ratio of 7.37. The company’s 50-day moving average is $42.74 and its 200 day moving average is $44.46.

Ionis Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:IONS) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, May 7th. The company reported ($0.98) earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of ($1.10) by $0.12. Ionis Pharmaceuticals had a negative return on equity of 107.64% and a negative net margin of 49.49%. The company had revenue of $119.00 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $131.42 million. During the same quarter last year, the company earned ($0.87) earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 9.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Ionis Pharmaceuticals will post -3.96 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Joseph Klein III sold 6,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $42.71, for a total value of $256,260.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 16,346 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $698,137.66. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Company insiders own 2.71% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Ionis Pharmaceuticals

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in IONS. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its holdings in Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 162.2% during the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 4,616,978 shares of the company’s stock valued at $233,573,000 after buying an additional 2,856,353 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Ionis Pharmaceuticals during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $59,288,000. Groupama Asset Managment bought a new stake in Ionis Pharmaceuticals during the 4th quarter worth approximately $18,068,000. First Turn Management LLC purchased a new stake in Ionis Pharmaceuticals in the 4th quarter worth approximately $18,044,000. Finally, C WorldWide Group Holding A S bought a new position in Ionis Pharmaceuticals in the 4th quarter valued at $15,177,000. 93.86% of the stock is currently owned by 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.