William Blair Brokers Increase Earnings Estimates for IONS

Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:IONS) – Stock analysts at William Blair increased their Q1 2025 EPS estimates for Ionis Pharmaceuticals in a research report issued to clients and investors on Monday, April 14th. William Blair analyst M. Minter now expects that the company will earn ($1.23) per share for the quarter, up from their previous forecast of ($1.25). William Blair currently has a “Outperform” rating on the stock. The consensus estimate for Ionis Pharmaceuticals’ current full-year earnings is ($3.50) per share. William Blair also issued estimates for Ionis Pharmaceuticals’ Q2 2025 earnings at ($1.02) EPS, Q3 2025 earnings at ($0.83) EPS, Q4 2025 earnings at ($0.77) EPS, FY2025 earnings at ($3.84) EPS and FY2026 earnings at ($2.11) EPS.

Ionis Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:IONS) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 19th. The company reported ($0.66) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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 business had revenue of $227.00 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $140.97 million. Ionis Pharmaceuticals’s quarterly revenue was down 30.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.12 earnings per share.

Several other brokerages have also issued reports on IONS. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $70.00 price target on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Thursday, February 20th. StockNews.com raised Ionis Pharmaceuticals to a “sell” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 18th. Guggenheim reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals in a report on Thursday, April 3rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $47.00 to $45.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, March 24th. Finally, Citigroup dropped their price objective on Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $67.00 to $64.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, February 20th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating, eleven have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $56.72.

Ionis Pharmaceuticals Price Performance

NASDAQ IONS opened at $28.40 on Thursday. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $30.93 and its 200-day moving average is $34.31. The company has a quick ratio of 8.82, a current ratio of 8.47 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.12. The company has a market capitalization of $4.51 billion, a PE ratio of -9.34 and a beta of 0.29. Ionis Pharmaceuticals has a 12-month low of $23.95 and a 12-month high of $52.34.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, EVP Patrick R. O’neil sold 1,207 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $32.35, for a total transaction of $39,046.45. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 56,245 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,819,525.75. This trade represents a 2.10 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Brett P. Monia sold 13,242 shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $32.45, for a total transaction of $429,702.90. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 219,526 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,123,618.70. The trade was a 5.69 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 63,167 shares of company stock valued at $2,010,458. 2.71% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Ionis Pharmaceuticals

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of IONS. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio lifted its position in Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 2.8% during the third quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio now owns 56,825 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,276,000 after purchasing an additional 1,529 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 7.4% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,668,358 shares of the company’s stock worth $106,922,000 after acquiring an additional 183,814 shares during the period. Everence Capital Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals during the 4th quarter worth approximately $237,000. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. increased its stake in Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 967.2% in the fourth quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 141,917 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,961,000 after acquiring an additional 128,619 shares during the last quarter. Finally, SG Americas Securities LLC raised its position in Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 222.5% during the fourth quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 23,927 shares of the company’s stock valued at $836,000 after purchasing an additional 16,508 shares in the last quarter. 93.86% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Ionis Pharmaceuticals

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.