Redburn Atlantic Initiates Coverage on Ionis Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:IONS)

Redburn Atlantic assumed coverage on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:IONS) in a research report report published on Monday morning, Marketbeat reports. The firm issued a neutral rating and a $39.00 target price on the stock.

A number of other brokerages also recently weighed in on IONS. Citigroup reduced their target price on Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $67.00 to $64.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, February 20th. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $60.00 price objective on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Thursday, February 20th. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $70.00 target price on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Thursday, February 20th. William Blair restated an “outperform” rating on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Friday, December 20th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals to a “sell” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 18th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating, thirteen have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $58.37.

Ionis Pharmaceuticals Stock Down 3.1 %

Shares of NASDAQ IONS opened at $30.17 on Monday. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.80 billion, a P/E ratio of -9.92 and a beta of 0.28. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $32.50 and its 200 day moving average is $35.63. Ionis Pharmaceuticals has a 52 week low of $29.61 and a 52 week high of $52.34. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.12, a quick ratio of 8.82 and a current ratio of 8.47.

Ionis Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:IONS) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, February 19th. The company reported ($0.66) EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($1.12) by $0.46. Ionis Pharmaceuticals had a negative net margin of 64.25% and a negative return on equity of 100.05%. The firm had revenue of $227.00 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $140.97 million. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.12 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 30.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts forecast that Ionis Pharmaceuticals will post -3.5 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Ionis Pharmaceuticals

In related news, EVP Patrick R. O’neil sold 6,165 shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 directly owns 57,452 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,816,632.24. The trade was a 9.69 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Brett P. Monia sold 38,843 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $31.65, for a total value of $1,229,380.95. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 180,683 shares in the company, valued at $5,718,616.95. The trade was a 17.69 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 111,956 shares of company stock worth $3,608,439. Insiders own 2.71% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Ionis Pharmaceuticals

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. California State Teachers Retirement System lifted its stake in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 6.1% in the 4th quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 133,902 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,681,000 after purchasing an additional 7,722 shares during the period. GF Fund Management CO. LTD. acquired a new position in Ionis Pharmaceuticals in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $116,000. Woodline Partners LP bought a new position in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals during the 4th quarter worth approximately $3,762,000. Vestal Point Capital LP acquired a new stake in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals during the 4th quarter worth approximately $20,801,000. Finally, Two Sigma Advisers LP increased its stake in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 1.3% in the 4th quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP now owns 1,349,211 shares of the company’s stock valued at $47,168,000 after acquiring an additional 16,800 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 93.86% of the company’s stock.

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.