Piper Sandler Issues Positive Forecast for Ionis Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:IONS) Stock Price

Ionis Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:IONS) had its target price upped by Piper Sandler from $87.00 to $100.00 in a report issued on Friday morning,Benzinga reports. Piper Sandler currently has an overweight rating on the stock.

Several other research firms have also recently issued reports on IONS. Royal Bank Of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Wednesday. TD Cowen reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals in a report on Wednesday, December 3rd. HC Wainwright upped their price objective on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $100.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, November 10th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $82.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, January 5th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reiterated a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Thursday, January 22nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have issued a Buy rating, three have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $88.80.

Ionis Pharmaceuticals Trading Up 0.7%

Shares of IONS stock traded up $0.55 on Friday, hitting $81.15. 2,773,688 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,033,377. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.96, a quick ratio of 2.78 and a current ratio of 2.79. Ionis Pharmaceuticals has a one year low of $23.95 and a one year high of $86.74. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $81.33 and its 200 day simple moving average is $71.91. The stock has a market capitalization of $13.14 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -33.26 and a beta of 0.29.

Ionis Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:IONS) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 25th. The company reported ($1.41) earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($1.23) by ($0.18). Ionis Pharmaceuticals had a negative net margin of 40.36% and a negative return on equity of 66.25%. The firm had revenue of $203.00 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $156.07 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned ($0.66) EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 10.6% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts forecast that Ionis Pharmaceuticals will post -3.5 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other Ionis Pharmaceuticals news, EVP Shannon L. Devers sold 44,199 shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction on Wednesday, January 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $85.08, for a total transaction of $3,760,450.92. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 17,494 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,488,389.52. The trade was a 71.64% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Eric Swayze sold 23,463 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, January 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $79.12, for a total value of $1,856,392.56. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 30,453 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,409,441.36. This represents a 43.52% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 464,579 shares of company stock valued at $37,630,193. 2.60% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Ionis Pharmaceuticals

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. grew its position in Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 72.5% during the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 652,518 shares of the company’s stock valued at $19,686,000 after purchasing an additional 274,310 shares during the last quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC increased its position in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 6.4% during the first quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 659,435 shares of the company’s stock valued at $19,895,000 after acquiring an additional 39,794 shares in the last quarter. Focus Partners Wealth increased its position in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 30.1% during the first quarter. Focus Partners Wealth now owns 9,832 shares of the company’s stock valued at $297,000 after acquiring an additional 2,277 shares in the last quarter. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd bought a new stake in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals during the second quarter valued at approximately $1,488,000. Finally, Atria Investments Inc purchased a new position in Ionis Pharmaceuticals in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $323,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.86% of the company’s stock.

Ionis Pharmaceuticals News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting Ionis Pharmaceuticals this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Piper Sandler raised its price target to $100 and moved to an “overweight” rating, signaling ~23% upside from current levels — a clear buy-side endorsement. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Needham lifted its price target to $103 from $90, another analyst upgrade supporting the rally and reflecting greater confidence in revenue trajectory. Needham Lifts PT on Ionis Pharmaceuticals (IONS) to $103 From $90
• Positive Sentiment: Updates to Tryngolza outlook are materially positive: recent analysis lifts peak revenue estimates (several sources cite >$2B for Tryngolza and company-level peak revenue/royalty/milestone potential in the multi‑billion range), and management guides to cash-flow breakeven by 2028 — bullish for long-term value. Ionis Pharmaceuticals: Digesting Recent Events
• Neutral Sentiment: Company presented at Oppenheimer’s healthcare conference; slides/transcript provide additional visibility into pipeline progress and commercialization strategy but are informational rather than catalytic. IONS Presents at Oppenheimer Conference Transcript
• Neutral Sentiment: General earnings call coverage/recaps are available for detail on management commentary and guidance; useful for modeling but not single-handedly market-moving. Q4 2025 Earnings Call Summary
• Negative Sentiment: Q4 results were mixed: revenue and Tryngolza sales beat expectations, but EPS missed estimates and management gave a softer 2026 outlook, which pressured the stock in after-hours/early trade. Ionis Q4 Earnings & Sales Beat, Stock Down on Soft 2026 Outlook
• Negative Sentiment: Coverage noted the EPS miss led to a gap-down reaction in some sessions; near-term uptake for new drugs and the FY2026 revenue cadence remain the main risk factors to watch. Shares Gap Down on Disappointing Earnings
• Negative Sentiment: Stifel raised its target modestly to $77 but kept a “hold” rating — the lower relative PT signals at least one shop sees limited near-term upside. Article Title

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.