HC Wainwright Issues Positive Outlook for IONS Earnings

Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:IONS) – HC Wainwright raised their Q4 2026 earnings estimates for Ionis Pharmaceuticals in a report released on Friday, September 4th. HC Wainwright analyst M. Kapoor now expects that the company will earn ($1.01) per share for the quarter, up from their previous estimate of ($1.02). HC Wainwright currently has a “Buy” rating and a $100.00 target price on the stock. The consensus estimate for Ionis Pharmaceuticals’ current full-year earnings is ($3.57) per share. HC Wainwright also issued estimates for Ionis Pharmaceuticals’ Q1 2027 earnings at ($0.75) EPS, Q2 2027 earnings at ($0.69) EPS, Q4 2027 earnings at $0.19 EPS and FY2027 earnings at ($1.25) EPS.

Other research analysts have also issued research reports about the company. Raymond James Financial reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $84.00 price target on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Tuesday. Citigroup reduced their target price on Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $115.00 to $100.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, July 10th. Weiss Ratings restated a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals in a report on Friday, July 17th. Leerink Partners raised their price target on Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $122.00 to $129.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, June 25th. Finally, Morgan Stanley cut their price target on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $110.00 to $104.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday. Seventeen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Ionis Pharmaceuticals presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $91.50.

Ionis Pharmaceuticals Stock Down 2.4%

NASDAQ IONS opened at $56.71 on Wednesday. Ionis Pharmaceuticals has a 1 year low of $50.01 and a 1 year high of $86.74. The stock has a market capitalization of $9.42 billion, a PE ratio of -16.39 and a beta of 0.42. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.07, a current ratio of 7.89 and a quick ratio of 7.73. The business’s 50-day moving average is $60.34 and its 200 day moving average is $70.14.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Ionis Pharmaceuticals

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Grandfield & Dodd LLC grew its position in Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 0.4% during the 4th quarter. Grandfield & Dodd LLC now owns 37,821 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,992,000 after purchasing an additional 146 shares during the last quarter. Checchi Capital Advisers LLC increased its stake in Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 3.7% during the 1st quarter. Checchi Capital Advisers LLC now owns 4,429 shares of the company’s stock valued at $333,000 after purchasing an additional 157 shares in the last quarter. Prospera Financial Services Inc raised its holdings in Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 3.9% in the fourth quarter. Prospera Financial Services Inc now owns 4,759 shares of the company’s stock worth $376,000 after buying an additional 178 shares during the last quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 2.6% in the fourth quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC now owns 9,674 shares of the company’s stock worth $765,000 after buying an additional 246 shares during the last quarter. Finally, HighTower Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 7.6% in the second quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 4,084 shares of the company’s stock worth $324,000 after buying an additional 287 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 93.86% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Ionis Pharmaceuticals

In related news, Director Michael R. Hayden bought 15,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 30th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $53.38 per share, with a total value of $800,700.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director owned 19,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,014,220. The trade was a 375.00% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Holly B. Kordasiewicz sold 60,846 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, June 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $73.41, for a total value of $4,466,704.86. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 22,458 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,648,641.78. The trade was a 73.04% 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. Insiders have sold 225,163 shares of company stock worth $17,711,191 over the last quarter. 1.81% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Trending Headlines about Ionis Pharmaceuticals

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

• Positive Sentiment: Analysts maintain bullish ratings: HC Wainwright lowered its price target from $115 to $100 but retained a “buy” rating. Canaccord Genuity also cut its target from $95 to $85 while maintaining a “buy” rating. The revised targets still imply substantial upside, signaling that analysts view the selloff as potentially excessive. Benzinga analyst price target reports
• Neutral Sentiment: ZANVASTRO launch plans remain a potential catalyst: Ionis discussed the FDA approval and commercialization strategy for ZANVASTRO in Alexander disease. The program could provide a future growth opportunity, although investors are likely focused more immediately on the pelacarsen setback. Ionis discusses ZANVASTRO approval and launch strategy
• Negative Sentiment: Pelacarsen failed its Phase 3 primary endpoint: The cardiovascular outcomes study, conducted with partner Novartis, failed to show that pelacarsen reduced cardiovascular events. The result clouds the drug’s commercial prospects and removes a potentially significant value driver for Ionis, prompting the sharp decline in the shares. Ionis shares fall after pelacarsen trial misses endpoint
• Negative Sentiment: Broader biotech and market pressure added to the selling: Novartis’ sharp decline following the pelacarsen failure affected its biotech partners, including Ionis. Lower U.S. stock futures and concern about other cardiovascular drug programs, including Amgen’s olpasiran, further weakened sentiment across the sector. Novartis trial failures ripple across biotech partners

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.