Ionis Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:IONS) Given New $65.00 Price Target at Guggenheim

Ionis Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:IONS) had its target price cut by stock analysts at Guggenheim from $70.00 to $65.00 in a research report issued on Wednesday, Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a “buy” rating on the stock. Guggenheim’s target price points to a potential upside of 69.40% from the company’s previous close.

Several other equities analysts also recently weighed in on the company. BMO Capital Markets downgraded Ionis Pharmaceuticals from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and dropped their price objective for the company from $67.00 to $60.00 in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. Jefferies Financial Group initiated coverage on Ionis Pharmaceuticals in a report on Tuesday, July 16th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $75.00 target price on the stock. Needham & Company LLC restated a “buy” rating and set a $60.00 price objective on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their target price on Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $50.00 to $53.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, June 27th. Finally, Leerink Partners raised Ionis Pharmaceuticals from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $53.00 to $62.00 in a research report on Wednesday, July 24th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating, twelve have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $60.28.

Ionis Pharmaceuticals Trading Up 1.5 %

IONS traded up $0.57 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $38.37. 372,169 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,327,619. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $44.76 and its two-hundred day moving average is $43.54. The company has a current ratio of 7.61, a quick ratio of 7.51 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.67. Ionis Pharmaceuticals has a 1-year low of $35.95 and a 1-year high of $54.44. The company has a market cap of $5.60 billion, a PE ratio of -14.37 and a beta of 0.38.

Ionis Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:IONS) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The company reported ($0.45) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.92) by $0.47. Ionis Pharmaceuticals had a negative return on equity of 115.66% and a negative net margin of 44.90%. The firm had revenue of $225.00 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $152.35 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.60 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 19.7% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts forecast that Ionis Pharmaceuticals will post -3.68 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Joseph Klein III sold 12,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $50.00, for a total value of $600,000.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 16,346 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $817,300. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In related news, EVP Richard S. Geary sold 2,430 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $48.00, for a total value of $116,640.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 85,508 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,104,384. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Joseph Klein III sold 12,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $50.00, for a total transaction of $600,000.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 16,346 shares in the company, valued at approximately $817,300. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 14,750 shares of company stock valued at $732,371. 2.71% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Ionis Pharmaceuticals

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its stake in Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 83.9% in the 3rd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 664 shares of the company’s stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 303 shares during the last quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB lifted its stake in Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 26.8% in the 3rd quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB now owns 43,011 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,723,000 after purchasing an additional 9,100 shares during the last quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC bought a new position in Ionis Pharmaceuticals in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $297,000. Sanctuary Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals during the second quarter valued at $784,000. Finally, Algert Global LLC raised its stake in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 149.2% during the second quarter. Algert Global LLC now owns 75,350 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,591,000 after acquiring an additional 45,108 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 93.86% of the company’s stock.

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.