Ionis Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:IONS) Earns “Outperform” Rating from Royal Bank of Canada

Ionis Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:IONS)‘s stock had its “outperform” rating reaffirmed by equities researchers at Royal Bank of Canada in a research note issued to investors on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. They currently have a $70.00 price objective on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada’s price objective would indicate a potential upside of 116.85% from the stock’s previous close.

Other equities research analysts have also issued research reports about the stock. StockNews.com lowered shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 12th. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $60.00 price target on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Friday, December 20th. Guggenheim decreased their price target on Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $70.00 to $65.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, October 9th. William Blair reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Friday, December 20th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $82.00 to $77.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, November 7th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating, twelve have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $60.65.

Ionis Pharmaceuticals Price Performance

NASDAQ IONS opened at $32.28 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 8.82, a current ratio of 8.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.86. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.10 billion, a PE ratio of -13.23 and a beta of 0.35. Ionis Pharmaceuticals has a 12-month low of $32.26 and a 12-month high of $52.49. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $35.79 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $41.28.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Eric Swayze sold 1,194 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $37.92, for a total value of $45,276.48. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 33,713 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,278,396.96. This represents a 3.42 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Michael R. Hayden purchased 5,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, December 23rd. The shares were acquired at an average price of $36.22 per share, for a total transaction of $181,100.00. Following the purchase, the director now directly owns 35,219 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,275,632.18. This represents a 16.55 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 2.71% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Ionis Pharmaceuticals

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. 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 period. Everence Capital Management Inc. acquired a new stake in Ionis Pharmaceuticals during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $237,000. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 7.4% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,668,358 shares of the company’s stock valued at $106,922,000 after purchasing an additional 183,814 shares during the period. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio grew its stake in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 2.8% in the 3rd quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio now owns 56,825 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,276,000 after purchasing an additional 1,529 shares during the period. Finally, Groupama Asset Managment raised its holdings in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 4.1% in the 3rd quarter. Groupama Asset Managment now owns 916,060 shares of the company’s stock worth $367,000 after buying an additional 36,084 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.