Ionis Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:IONS) Reaches New 52-Week High – Should You Buy?

Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:IONS) shares hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Monday . The stock traded as high as $77.76 and last traded at $77.5680, with a volume of 338181 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $76.09.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have recently commented on the stock. Weiss Ratings reissued a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Guggenheim increased their target price on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $90.00 to $92.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, September 23rd. Raymond James Financial reissued a “strong-buy” rating and issued a $89.00 price target (up previously from $85.00) on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Thursday, October 30th. BMO Capital Markets raised Ionis Pharmaceuticals from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $40.00 to $70.00 in a research report on Wednesday, September 3rd. Finally, Cowen set a $99.00 price objective on Ionis Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Thursday, October 30th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seventeen have issued a Buy rating, three have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $84.15.

Ionis Pharmaceuticals Stock Up 2.8%

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.99, a current ratio of 2.87 and a quick ratio of 2.86. The company has a market cap of $12.67 billion, a PE ratio of -46.22 and a beta of 0.33. The business’s 50 day moving average is $69.69 and its 200-day moving average is $51.29.

Ionis Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:IONS) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 29th. The company reported ($0.80) EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of ($1.15) by $0.35. The company had revenue of $156.72 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $131.75 million. Ionis Pharmaceuticals had a negative net margin of 26.45% and a negative return on equity of 45.29%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 17.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted ($0.95) EPS. Ionis Pharmaceuticals has set its FY 2025 guidance at EPS. As a group, analysts predict that Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. will post -3.5 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Ionis Pharmaceuticals news, EVP Shannon L. Devers sold 1,263 shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction dated Thursday, October 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $73.62, for a total transaction of $92,982.06. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 17,494 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,287,908.28. The trade was a 6.73% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Brian Birchler sold 8,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, November 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $76.17, for a total value of $609,360.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 48,826 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,719,076.42. This represents a 14.08% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold 913,362 shares of company stock valued at $59,015,008 over the last 90 days. 2.60% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Ionis Pharmaceuticals

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Steigerwald Gordon & Koch Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $25,000. Golden State Wealth Management LLC grew its position in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 198.4% in the 3rd quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC now owns 376 shares of the company’s stock valued at $25,000 after buying an additional 250 shares during the last quarter. Mather Group LLC. purchased a new position in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals in the 3rd quarter valued at $27,000. Allworth Financial LP raised its stake in Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 231.8% during the 2nd quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 740 shares of the company’s stock worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 517 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Quarry LP purchased a new stake in Ionis Pharmaceuticals in the third quarter valued at $38,000. 93.86% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.