Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:IONS) Stock Rated “Moderate Buy” by Sell-Side Analysts

Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:IONS) has been given a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” by the twenty-three brokerages that are presently covering the stock, MarketBeat.com reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and nineteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average twelve-month target price among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $89.48.

A number of equities analysts recently commented on IONS shares. BMO Capital Markets raised shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $54.00 to $66.00 in a research note on Thursday, October 22nd. Wall Street Zen downgraded Ionis Pharmaceuticals from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Saturday, August 1st. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $100.00 to $95.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, July 30th. Morgan Stanley lowered their price objective on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $110.00 to $104.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, September 8th. Finally, UBS Group initiated coverage on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Thursday, October 15th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $88.00 price objective on the stock.

Ionis Pharmaceuticals Stock Performance

Ionis Pharmaceuticals stock opened at $43.42 on Tuesday. Ionis Pharmaceuticals has a fifty-two week low of $42.08 and a fifty-two week high of $86.74. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $50.24 and its 200-day simple moving average is $67.57. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.07, a current ratio of 7.89 and a quick ratio of 7.73. The company has a market cap of $7.22 billion, a P/E ratio of -12.55 and a beta of 0.38.

Insider Buying and Selling at Ionis Pharmaceuticals

In other news, Director Michael R. Hayden acquired 15,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, July 30th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $53.38 per share, for a total transaction of $800,700.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director owned 19,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,014,220. The trade was a 375.00% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Shannon L. Devers sold 1,357 shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction on Friday, October 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $43.54, for a total value of $59,083.78. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 17,811 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $775,490.94. The trade was a 7.08% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Insiders own 1.81% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA lifted its holdings in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 1.2% during the 1st quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA now owns 1,434,995 shares of the company’s stock valued at $107,077,000 after buying an additional 16,504 shares during the last quarter. Alyeska Investment Group L.P. increased its holdings in Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 199.7% in the second quarter. Alyeska Investment Group L.P. now owns 1,417,916 shares of the company’s stock worth $112,427,000 after buying an additional 944,766 shares during the last quarter. Groupama Asset Managment increased its holdings in Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 7.5% in the first quarter. Groupama Asset Managment now owns 824,540 shares of the company’s stock worth $61,915,000 after buying an additional 57,651 shares during the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE acquired a new position in Ionis Pharmaceuticals in the second quarter worth approximately $62,718,000. Finally, Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. bought a new position in Ionis Pharmaceuticals during the second quarter valued at approximately $54,253,000. 93.86% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Ionis Pharmaceuticals Company Profile

Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc is a biotechnology company focused on discovering and developing medicines using antisense technology. Its platform is designed to selectively target RNA and regulate the production of disease-related proteins. The company develops therapies for neurological, cardiovascular and metabolic, and rare diseases.

Ionis has developed and commercialized medicines both independently and through collaborations with larger pharmaceutical companies. Its marketed or partnered products include Spinraza (nusinersen) for spinal muscular atrophy, Tegsedi (inotersen) and Wainua (eplontersen) for hereditary transthyretin amyloidosis, and Tryngolza (olezarsen) for familial chylomicronemia syndrome.