Ionis Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:IONS) Price Target Raised to $120.00

Ionis Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:IONS) had its price objective lifted by HC Wainwright from $110.00 to $120.00 in a research note issued to investors on Wednesday morning,Benzinga reports. They currently have a buy rating on the stock. HC Wainwright also issued estimates for Ionis Pharmaceuticals’ FY2027 earnings at ($0.35) EPS.

Several other equities analysts have also recently commented on IONS. Morgan Stanley set a $95.00 target price on Ionis Pharmaceuticals and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 25th. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Saturday, February 28th. Barclays initiated coverage on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Wednesday, January 28th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $95.00 price objective on the stock. Royal Bank Of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals in a report on Wednesday, February 25th. Finally, Piper Sandler boosted their target price on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $87.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, February 27th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have assigned a Buy rating, three have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $90.15.

Ionis Pharmaceuticals Trading Down 2.8%

NASDAQ:IONS opened at $72.15 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $11.92 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -29.57 and a beta of 0.31. Ionis Pharmaceuticals has a one year low of $23.95 and a one year high of $86.74. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.76, a quick ratio of 3.81 and a current ratio of 3.83. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $78.90 and its 200 day simple moving average is $75.63.

Ionis Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:IONS) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 25th. The company reported ($1.41) earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($1.23) by ($0.18). Ionis Pharmaceuticals had a negative net margin of 40.36% and a negative return on equity of 68.82%. The business had revenue of $203.33 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $156.07 million. During the same quarter last year, the business earned ($0.66) EPS. Ionis Pharmaceuticals’s revenue for the quarter was down 10.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Ionis Pharmaceuticals will post -3.5 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Ionis Pharmaceuticals

In other Ionis Pharmaceuticals news, EVP Patrick R. O’neil sold 10,148 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $75.25, for a total transaction of $763,637.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 62,211 shares in the company, valued at $4,681,377.75. The trade was a 14.02% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Elizabeth L. Hougen sold 10,172 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $73.21, for a total transaction of $744,692.12. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 82,660 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,051,538.60. The trade was a 10.96% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 1,035,882 shares of company stock worth $80,492,247. 2.60% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of IONS. Capital World Investors grew its position 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 valued at $1,420,918,000 after buying an additional 5,238,571 shares during the last quarter. Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. raised its stake in Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 253.3% during the second quarter. Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. now owns 3,800,000 shares of the company’s stock worth $150,138,000 after acquiring an additional 2,724,400 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 2.7% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 3,148,849 shares of the company’s stock worth $249,158,000 after acquiring an additional 82,560 shares during the period. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD lifted its holdings in Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 9.5% in the fourth quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 2,987,840 shares of the company’s stock worth $236,370,000 after acquiring an additional 258,155 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Tweedy Browne Co LLC lifted its holdings in Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 0.3% in the third quarter. Tweedy Browne Co LLC now owns 2,901,216 shares of the company’s stock worth $189,798,000 after acquiring an additional 9,268 shares during the last quarter. 93.86% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Key Ionis Pharmaceuticals News

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

• Positive Sentiment: Barclays raised its price target to $106 and maintained an “overweight” rating, arguing for roughly 45% upside from current levels — a near-term catalyst if investors follow the bank’s thesis. Barclays PT Raise
• Positive Sentiment: HC Wainwright reiterated a Buy rating and models FY2027 EPS of ($0.35) with a $120 price objective, signaling bullish institutional expectations for recovery and long-term value. HC Wainwright Report
• Positive Sentiment: Multiple independent broker notes (Needham, Barclays coverage summarized by financial outlets) point to strong upside and price appreciation potential based on portfolio progress and pipeline monetization. Needham Forecast
• Neutral Sentiment: Ionis repriced a drug ahead of a key FDA decision — a sign it’s positioning for a larger commercial market but also introduces execution risk if approval or launch dynamics differ from expectations. Monitor pricing, label and launch plans for impact. MSN Article
• Neutral Sentiment: Comparative analyses (Ionis vs. Innate Pharma) provide context but are unlikely to move the stock materially unless they reveal concrete partnership or competitive shifts. Head-to-Head Analysis
• Negative Sentiment: Zacks highlights that IONS is down since the last earnings release—investors remain concerned after the recent quarter showed a larger EPS miss, negative margins and revenue headwinds despite some revenue beats, keeping short-term sentiment pressured. Zacks Coverage

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.