Ionis Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:IONS) Stock Rating Lowered by Wall Street Zen

Ionis Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:IONS) was downgraded by investment analysts at Wall Street Zen from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report issued on Saturday.

A number of other research firms have also weighed in on IONS. Jefferies Financial Group dropped their target price on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $113.00 to $90.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, July 9th. Barclays reduced their price target on Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $115.00 to $90.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, July 10th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Friday, July 17th. Raymond James Financial set a $87.00 price objective on Ionis Pharmaceuticals in a report on Thursday, July 9th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada cut their price objective on Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $100.00 to $85.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, July 13th. Eighteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Ionis Pharmaceuticals presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $94.85.

Ionis Pharmaceuticals Price Performance

Shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals stock opened at $51.77 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $8.60 billion, a PE ratio of -14.96 and a beta of 0.41. Ionis Pharmaceuticals has a 12-month low of $40.03 and a 12-month high of $86.74. The company has a quick ratio of 7.73, a current ratio of 7.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.07. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $69.55 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $74.52.

Insider Activity at Ionis Pharmaceuticals

In other Ionis Pharmaceuticals news, CEO Brett P. Monia sold 50,000 shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $80.59, for a total transaction of $4,029,500.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 245,571 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $19,790,566.89. The trade was a 16.92% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, EVP Holly B. Kordasiewicz sold 60,846 shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $73.41, for a total value of $4,466,704.86. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 22,458 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,648,641.78. The trade was a 73.04% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders have sold 233,163 shares of company stock valued at $18,316,551 over the last three months. Corporate insiders own 1.81% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. SG Americas Securities LLC lifted its position in Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 548.7% during the 4th quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 33,409 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,643,000 after acquiring an additional 28,259 shares during the period. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. grew its holdings in Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 51.7% in the fourth quarter. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 42,394 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,354,000 after purchasing an additional 14,455 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. grew its holdings in Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 19,941.6% in the fourth quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 1,321,345 shares of the company’s stock worth $104,532,000 after purchasing an additional 1,314,752 shares during the period. Florida Financial Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals during the first quarter valued at approximately $1,944,000. Finally, Baker BROS. Advisors LP increased its stake in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 216.1% during the fourth quarter. Baker BROS. Advisors LP now owns 1,791,841 shares of the company’s stock valued at $141,753,000 after purchasing an additional 1,225,043 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.86% of the company’s stock.

Trending Headlines about Ionis Pharmaceuticals

Here are the key news stories impacting Ionis Pharmaceuticals this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Ionis beat Wall Street’s second-quarter revenue and earnings expectations, helped by commercial growth despite difficult year-over-year comparisons. Management also reaffirmed its 2026 outlook, supporting confidence in the company’s operating trajectory. Zacks Q2 earnings report
• Positive Sentiment: Director Michael R. Hayden bought 15,000 shares for approximately $800,700 on July 30 and another 5,000 shares for $258,000 on July 31. The purchases materially increased his ownership and may be viewed as a signal of confidence in Ionis’s valuation and prospects. SEC insider-trading filing
• Neutral Sentiment: Wells Fargo lowered its price target from $100 to $95 while maintaining an “overweight” rating. The reduced target reflects more cautious valuation expectations, but the rating remains bullish. Benzinga analyst report
• Neutral Sentiment: HC Wainwright cut its target from $125 to $115 but retained a “buy” rating, similarly indicating lower near-term valuation expectations while maintaining a positive view of the stock. StreetInsider analyst report
• Negative Sentiment: Pomerantz LLP announced an investigation into potential claims on behalf of Ionis investors. Although the announcement does not establish wrongdoing, it adds legal and reputational uncertainty and may weigh on sentiment. Pomerantz investor alert

Ionis Pharmaceuticals Company Profile

Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc is a biotechnology company focused on the discovery and development of RNA-targeted therapies designed to modulate gene expression. The company’s proprietary antisense oligonucleotide (ASO) technology enables the selective binding of short synthetic strands of nucleic acids to messenger RNA (mRNA), thereby inhibiting or altering the production of disease-causing proteins. Ionis’ pipeline spans a range of therapeutic areas, including neurological disorders, cardiovascular conditions, metabolic diseases and rare genetic disorders.

Since its founding in 1989 by Dr.