Ionis Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:IONS) Price Target Cut to $45.00 by Analysts at BMO Capital Markets

Ionis Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:IONS) had its price objective cut by BMO Capital Markets from $60.00 to $45.00 in a report released on Thursday morning,Benzinga reports. They currently have a market perform rating on the stock.

Several other research firms have also recently commented on IONS. William Blair reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Friday, December 20th. Piper Sandler lowered their price objective on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $65.00 to $62.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, November 14th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $82.00 to $77.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, November 7th. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $70.00 price target on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Wednesday, January 15th. Finally, StockNews.com cut Ionis Pharmaceuticals from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 12th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating, thirteen have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $60.00.

Ionis Pharmaceuticals Stock Down 1.1 %

IONS opened at $32.33 on Thursday. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $33.65 and its 200 day moving average price is $38.30. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.12, a current ratio of 8.47 and a quick ratio of 8.82. The stock has a market cap of $5.14 billion, a P/E ratio of -10.63 and a beta of 0.34. Ionis Pharmaceuticals has a 12 month low of $30.23 and a 12 month high of $52.34.

Ionis Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:IONS) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 19th. The company reported ($0.66) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($1.12) by $0.46. Ionis Pharmaceuticals had a negative return on equity of 100.05% and a negative net margin of 64.25%. The company had revenue of $227.00 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $140.97 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.12 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 30.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts predict that Ionis Pharmaceuticals will post -3.5 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity at Ionis Pharmaceuticals

In other news, EVP Patrick R. O’neil sold 6,165 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $31.62, for a total value of $194,937.30. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 57,452 shares in the company, valued at $1,816,632.24. This represents a 9.69 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Brett P. Monia sold 33,445 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $32.63, for a total transaction of $1,091,310.35. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 207,396 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,767,331.48. This trade represents a 13.89 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 110,609 shares of company stock valued at $3,564,867. Company insiders own 2.71% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Ionis Pharmaceuticals

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Signaturefd LLC raised its holdings in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 160.0% during the fourth quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 949 shares of the company’s stock worth $33,000 after acquiring an additional 584 shares in the last quarter. Huntington National Bank increased its position in Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 193.5% in the 4th quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 951 shares of the company’s stock worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 627 shares during the last quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC increased its position in Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 183.8% in the 4th quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC now owns 1,036 shares of the company’s stock worth $36,000 after purchasing an additional 671 shares during the last quarter. Capital Performance Advisors LLP purchased a new stake in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals during the 3rd quarter worth about $40,000. Finally, Prospera Private Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals during the 3rd quarter valued at about $42,000. 93.86% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Ionis Pharmaceuticals Company Profile

Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc discovers and develops RNA-targeted therapeutics in the United States. The company offers SPINRAZA for spinal muscular atrophy (SMA) in pediatric and adult patients; TEGSEDI, an antisense injection for the treatment of polyneuropathy caused by hereditary transthyretin amyloidosis in adults; and WAYLIVRA, an antisense medicine for treatment for familial chylomicronemia syndrome (FCS) and familial partial lipodystrophy.