Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:IONS) Given Average Rating of “Moderate Buy” by Analysts

Shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:IONS) have earned an average rating of “Moderate Buy” from the nineteen ratings firms that are currently covering the stock, MarketBeat Ratings reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating, twelve have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. The average 12 month price target among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $60.65.

Several research firms have commented on IONS. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $70.00 price target on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Thursday, September 26th. Guggenheim lowered their target price on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $70.00 to $65.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, October 9th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $82.00 to $77.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, November 7th. StockNews.com cut Ionis Pharmaceuticals from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 12th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $50.00 to $55.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, August 26th.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Eric Swayze sold 1,194 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $37.92, for a total transaction of $45,276.48. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 33,713 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,278,396.96. This represents a 3.42 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Brett P. Monia sold 6,630 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $38.05, for a total value of $252,271.50. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 167,393 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,369,303.65. This trade represents a 3.81 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 7,877 shares of company stock valued at $299,578 in the last ninety days. 2.71% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Ionis Pharmaceuticals

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its holdings in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 83.9% during the third quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 664 shares of the company’s stock worth $27,000 after buying an additional 303 shares in the last quarter. nVerses Capital LLC acquired a new stake in Ionis Pharmaceuticals during the second quarter worth approximately $29,000. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. purchased a new stake in Ionis Pharmaceuticals in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $37,000. Capital Performance Advisors LLP acquired a new position in Ionis Pharmaceuticals in the 3rd quarter valued at $40,000. Finally, Prospera Private Wealth LLC purchased a new position in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals during the 3rd quarter worth $42,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.86% of the company’s stock.

Ionis Pharmaceuticals Trading Down 3.8 %

Shares of NASDAQ IONS opened at $36.25 on Friday. Ionis Pharmaceuticals has a twelve month low of $33.33 and a twelve month high of $54.44. 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 business has a fifty day simple moving average of $37.52 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $42.37. The firm has a market cap of $5.72 billion, a PE ratio of -14.86 and a beta of 0.35.

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.