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

Shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:IONS) have been given an average rating of “Moderate Buy” by the twenty-one brokerages that are presently covering the company, MarketBeat.com reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, two have issued a hold recommendation and eighteen have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 1 year price objective among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $96.80.

IONS has been the subject of a number of research reports. Bank of America increased their price objective on Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $100.00 to $111.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, April 9th. Canaccord Genuity Group reduced their price objective on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $110.00 to $95.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday. Needham & Company LLC decreased their price objective on Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $105.00 to $86.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday. Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their target price on Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $95.00 to $100.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. Finally, Barclays reduced their price target on Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $115.00 to $90.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday.

Ionis Pharmaceuticals Stock Down 9.4%

IONS stock traded down $6.02 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $58.25. 11,439,176 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,922,914. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.75, a quick ratio of 4.09 and a current ratio of 4.10. Ionis Pharmaceuticals has a 1-year low of $40.03 and a 1-year high of $86.74. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $75.78 and its 200 day simple moving average is $77.27. The firm has a market cap of $9.63 billion, a P/E ratio of -28.14 and a beta of 0.36.

Ionis Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:IONS) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 29th. The company reported ($0.56) EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.85) by $0.29. The business had revenue of $246.09 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $195.56 million. Ionis Pharmaceuticals had a negative net margin of 30.91% and a negative return on equity of 58.65%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 86.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business posted ($0.93) earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Ionis Pharmaceuticals will post -3.73 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ionis Pharmaceuticals News Summary

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

• Negative Sentiment: Ionis and AstraZeneca disclosed that the Phase 3 CARDIO-TTRansform trial for eplontersen in ATTR-CM failed to hit its main efficacy goal, a major setback for a key partnered drug. Article Title
• Negative Sentiment: Reuters reported that the AstraZeneca-Ionis heart drug also missed its main goal of reducing cardiovascular deaths and recurrent heart problems, reinforcing investor concerns about the program. Article Title
• Negative Sentiment: Several insiders, including an executive vice president and a director, disclosed stock sales under pre-arranged 10b5-1 plans, adding to near-term caution.
• Negative Sentiment: Traders bought an unusually large number of put options, suggesting some market participants are positioning for further downside.
• Neutral Sentiment: Multiple analysts cut price targets on IONS, but most kept Buy/Overweight ratings, indicating valuation confidence even after the setback. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: HC Wainwright, Morgan Stanley, Canaccord Genuity, and Needham all lowered targets, with Needham trimming its target to $86 from $105 while maintaining a Buy rating. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: Ionis updated FY2026 revenue guidance to $875 million-$900 million, roughly in line with expectations, which does little to offset the clinical disappointment.

Insider Activity at Ionis Pharmaceuticals

In other news, EVP Patrick R. O’neil sold 3,069 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $80.00, for a total value of $245,520.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 61,470 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,917,600. This represents a 4.76% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CEO Brett P. Monia sold 50,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, June 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $80.59, for a total transaction of $4,029,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 245,571 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $19,790,566.89. This represents a 16.92% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 244,038 shares of company stock worth $19,139,399. Insiders own 1.81% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Capital World Investors increased its stake in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 41.2% during the 4th quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 17,961,299 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,420,918,000 after purchasing an additional 5,238,571 shares during the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its stake in Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 19,941.6% in the 4th quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 1,321,345 shares of the company’s stock valued at $104,532,000 after purchasing an additional 1,314,752 shares during the last quarter. Baker BROS. Advisors LP lifted its stake in Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 216.1% in the 4th quarter. Baker BROS. Advisors LP now owns 1,791,841 shares of the company’s stock valued at $141,753,000 after purchasing an additional 1,225,043 shares during the last quarter. Marshall Wace LLP grew its holdings in Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 7,219.3% during the third quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 958,829 shares of the company’s stock worth $62,727,000 after purchasing an additional 945,729 shares during the period. Finally, Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership bought a new position in Ionis Pharmaceuticals during the third quarter worth about $41,223,000. Institutional investors own 93.86% of the company’s stock.

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.