Ionis Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:IONS) Price Target Raised to $105.00

Ionis Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:IONS) had its target price hoisted by analysts at Needham & Company LLC from $103.00 to $105.00 in a research note issued to investors on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has a “buy” rating on the stock. Needham & Company LLC’s price target would suggest a potential upside of 43.21% from the stock’s previous close.

Other research analysts have also recently issued reports about the company. Piper Sandler upped their price objective on Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $87.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, February 27th. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their target price on Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $73.00 to $77.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 26th. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Saturday, February 28th. Bank of America boosted their price objective on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $86.00 to $97.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 9th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Wednesday, February 25th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have given a Buy rating, three have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $89.60.

Ionis Pharmaceuticals Stock Up 5.2%

Shares of IONS traded up $3.64 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $73.32. The stock had a trading volume of 932,210 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,302,085. The company has a market cap of $12.11 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -29.92 and a beta of 0.31. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $79.17 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $75.59. Ionis Pharmaceuticals has a 1-year low of $23.95 and a 1-year high of $86.74. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.76, a current ratio of 3.83 and a quick ratio of 3.81.

Ionis Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:IONS) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, February 25th. The company reported ($1.41) EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($1.23) by ($0.18). The firm had revenue of $203.33 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $156.07 million. Ionis Pharmaceuticals had a negative return on equity of 68.82% and a negative net margin of 40.36%.The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 10.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted ($0.66) EPS. Equities research analysts expect that Ionis Pharmaceuticals will post -3.5 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity at Ionis Pharmaceuticals

In related news, Director Allene M. Diaz sold 54,878 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $79.35, for a total value of $4,354,569.30. Following the transaction, the director owned 3,811 shares in the company, valued at $302,402.85. The trade was a 93.51% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Elizabeth L. Hougen sold 215,048 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $72.40, for a total value of $15,569,475.20. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 92,832 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,721,036.80. The trade was a 69.85% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold a total of 1,035,882 shares of company stock worth $80,492,247 in the last three months. Company insiders own 2.71% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Ionis Pharmaceuticals

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Steigerwald Gordon & Koch Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals during the third quarter worth $25,000. Golden State Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in 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 period. Mather Group LLC. purchased a new position in Ionis Pharmaceuticals during the 3rd quarter worth $27,000. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. purchased a new position in Ionis Pharmaceuticals during the 4th quarter worth $27,000. Finally, Quarry LP acquired a new stake in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals in the 3rd quarter worth $38,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.86% of the company’s stock.

Ionis Pharmaceuticals Company Profile

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.