JPMorgan Chase & Co. Cuts Ionis Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:IONS) Price Target to $45.00

Ionis Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:IONS) had its target price cut by stock analysts at JPMorgan Chase & Co. from $47.00 to $45.00 in a research note issued on Monday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has a “neutral” rating on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co.‘s price target points to a potential upside of 36.74% from the company’s previous close.

Several other research analysts have also recently weighed in on IONS. Citigroup decreased their price target on Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $67.00 to $64.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, February 20th. BMO Capital Markets lowered their target price on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $60.00 to $45.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, February 20th. StockNews.com raised shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals to a “sell” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 18th. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $70.00 price objective on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals in a report on Thursday, February 20th. Finally, William Blair restated an “outperform” rating on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals in a report on Friday, December 20th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating, thirteen have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $59.44.

Ionis Pharmaceuticals Price Performance

IONS opened at $32.91 on Monday. Ionis Pharmaceuticals has a 1 year low of $30.23 and a 1 year high of $52.34. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $32.62 and a 200-day moving average price of $36.18. The firm has a market cap of $5.23 billion, a PE ratio of -10.83 and a beta of 0.28. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.12, a current ratio of 8.47 and a quick ratio of 8.82.

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

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Brett P. Monia sold 33,445 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $32.63, for a total value of $1,091,310.35. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 207,396 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,767,331.48. The trade was a 13.89 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Eric Swayze sold 7,154 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $32.84, for a total value of $234,937.36. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 45,670 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,499,802.80. The trade was a 13.54 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 111,956 shares of company stock worth $3,608,439 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 2.71% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Ionis Pharmaceuticals

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of IONS. Signaturefd LLC increased its holdings in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 160.0% in the fourth quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 949 shares of the company’s stock worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 584 shares during the last quarter. Huntington National Bank raised its stake in Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 193.5% during the fourth quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 951 shares of the company’s stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 627 shares in the last quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC lifted its position in Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 183.8% during the fourth quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC now owns 1,036 shares of the company’s stock valued at $36,000 after purchasing an additional 671 shares during the last quarter. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. grew its stake in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 40.9% in the 3rd quarter. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. now owns 1,081 shares of the company’s stock worth $43,000 after buying an additional 314 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Quantbot Technologies LP bought a new stake in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals in the 3rd quarter worth about $51,000. Hedge funds and other 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.