Ionis Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:IONS) Price Target Lowered to $95.00 at Wells Fargo & Company

Ionis Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:IONS) had its target price reduced by Wells Fargo & Company from $100.00 to $95.00 in a research report report published on Thursday morning,Benzinga reports. They currently have an overweight rating on the stock.

Several other equities analysts also recently commented on the stock. Needham & Company LLC dropped their price objective on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $105.00 to $86.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, July 9th. Canaccord Genuity Group decreased their target price on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $110.00 to $95.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, July 10th. Wall Street Zen raised Ionis Pharmaceuticals from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, May 2nd. Morgan Stanley cut their price objective on Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $130.00 to $110.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, July 10th. Finally, Bank of America boosted their price objective on Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $100.00 to $111.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 9th. Eighteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $94.85.

Ionis Pharmaceuticals Stock Down 1.4%

Shares of NASDAQ IONS opened at $53.28 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $8.81 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -15.40 and a beta of 0.36. The company has a current ratio of 4.10, a quick ratio of 4.09 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.75. Ionis Pharmaceuticals has a 12 month low of $40.03 and a 12 month high of $86.74. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $70.03 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $74.73.

Ionis Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:IONS) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The company reported ($0.56) earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.85) by $0.29. The company had revenue of $246.09 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $195.56 million. Ionis Pharmaceuticals had a negative net margin of 64.76% and a negative return on equity of 106.23%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 86.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company posted ($0.93) EPS. As a group, analysts forecast that Ionis Pharmaceuticals will post -3.71 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Ionis Pharmaceuticals

In other news, 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 owned 245,571 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $19,790,566.89. This trade represents a 16.92% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, EVP Holly B. Kordasiewicz sold 60,846 shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction on Friday, June 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $73.41, for a total transaction of $4,466,704.86. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 22,458 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,648,641.78. This trade represents a 73.04% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 233,163 shares of company stock worth $18,316,551. 1.81% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of IONS. Handelsbanken Fonder AB increased its stake in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 79.1% in the second quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB now owns 383,211 shares of the company’s stock valued at $30,385,000 after buying an additional 169,300 shares during the period. Victrix Investment Advisors bought a new position in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals during the second quarter worth about $270,000. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. lifted its stake in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 21.5% in the second quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 40,927 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,245,000 after acquiring an additional 7,254 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its stake in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 22.8% in the second quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 2,168 shares of the company’s stock worth $172,000 after acquiring an additional 402 shares during the period. Finally, Harbor Investment Advisory LLC bought a new stake in Ionis Pharmaceuticals in the second quarter valued at approximately $112,000. 93.86% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Ionis Pharmaceuticals News Summary

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

• Positive Sentiment: Second-quarter results exceeded expectations. Ionis reported a quarterly loss that was narrower than analysts anticipated, while revenue surpassed consensus estimates. Commercial growth helped offset difficult comparisons, and management reiterated its 2026 financial outlook. Ionis Beats Q2 Earnings and Sales Estimates
• Positive Sentiment: Pipeline progress continues. Ionis is expanding development of olezarsen into pediatric familial chylomicronemia syndrome, potentially broadening the drug’s rare-disease opportunity. Ionis Expands Rare Disease Reach With Pediatric FCS Trial
• Neutral Sentiment: Analysts remain bullish but reduced valuation targets. Wells Fargo lowered its target to $95 from $100 while maintaining an “overweight” rating; H.C. Wainwright cut its target to $115 from $125 but kept a “buy” rating. The cuts may reflect more cautious assumptions even though both firms still see substantial upside.
• Neutral Sentiment: Chief scientific officer transition announced. Dr. Frank Bennett plans to retire, creating a leadership change in Ionis’ research organization. The announcement is not necessarily a near-term business setback, but investors may monitor the succession process. Ionis Announces Dr. Frank Bennett Retirement
• Negative Sentiment: Investor-law-firm investigation adds headline risk. Pomerantz LLP is investigating potential claims on behalf of Ionis investors. Such notices do not establish wrongdoing, but they can increase uncertainty and weigh on the stock in the short term. Pomerantz Investor Alert

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.