Ionis Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:IONS) Stock Gets Price Target Reduction from The Goldman Sachs Group

Ionis Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:IONS) had its price objective reduced by The Goldman Sachs Group from $58.00 to $41.00 in a research note published on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. They currently have a neutral rating on the stock.

Other equities research analysts have also issued reports about the stock. Royal Bank Of Canada dropped their price objective on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $85.00 to $60.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $95.00 to $80.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday. UBS Group initiated coverage on Ionis Pharmaceuticals in a report on Thursday, October 15th. They set a “buy” rating and a $88.00 target price for the company. Citigroup reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals in a report on Wednesday, October 21st. Finally, Guggenheim dropped their price target on Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $89.00 to $80.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, September 15th. Nineteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $78.00.

Ionis Pharmaceuticals Price Performance

NASDAQ IONS opened at $27.31 on Tuesday. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $44.23 and a 200 day simple moving average of $64.84. Ionis Pharmaceuticals has a 52-week low of $27.28 and a 52-week high of $86.74. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.42, a quick ratio of 7.73 and a current ratio of 5.43. The stock has a market cap of $4.55 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -8.23 and a beta of 0.43.

Ionis Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:IONS) last announced its earnings results on Monday, November 9th. The company reported ($0.66) EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($1.23) by $0.57. Ionis Pharmaceuticals had a negative net margin of 56.98% and a negative return on equity of 120.62%. The firm had revenue of $242.72 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $178.17 million. During the same period last year, the company posted ($0.80) EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 54.8% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts anticipate that Ionis Pharmaceuticals will post -3.62 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Ionis Pharmaceuticals

In other news, EVP Shannon Devers sold 1,357 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, October 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $43.54, for a total transaction of $59,083.78. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 17,811 shares in the company, valued at $775,490.94. This represents a 7.08% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. 1.81% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Ionis Pharmaceuticals

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in IONS. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA grew its position in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 21.7% in the 3rd quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA now owns 1,944,020 shares of the company’s stock valued at $87,249,000 after acquiring an additional 347,022 shares during the period. Alyeska Investment Group L.P. raised its holdings in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 199.7% in the 2nd quarter. Alyeska Investment Group L.P. now owns 1,417,916 shares of the company’s stock valued at $112,427,000 after purchasing an additional 944,766 shares during the period. GW&K Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 79.6% in the 3rd quarter. GW&K Investment Management LLC now owns 1,341,315 shares of the company’s stock valued at $59,890,000 after purchasing an additional 594,349 shares during the period. Groupama Asset Managment lifted its stake in Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 7.5% in the 1st quarter. Groupama Asset Managment now owns 824,540 shares of the company’s stock valued at $61,915,000 after purchasing an additional 57,651 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE acquired a new stake in Ionis Pharmaceuticals in the 2nd quarter valued at about $62,718,000. 93.86% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Key Ionis Pharmaceuticals News

Here’s some of the latest news about IONS:

• Positive Sentiment: Wells Fargo initiated or reiterated a Buy view on Ionis, signaling a favorable analyst outlook despite recent concerns. Article: Ionis receives a Buy from Wells Fargo
• Negative Sentiment: Several firms, including Morgan Stanley, Needham, HC Wainwright, Oppenheimer and Goldman Sachs, lowered price targets or expectations for IONS, reinforcing concerns about the outlook. Article: HC Wainwright cuts Ionis price target
• Negative Sentiment: Wolf Popper and Levi & Korsinsky announced investigations related to Ionis securities claims, with the latter citing the TRYNGOLZA outlook reduction. These are investigations, not findings of wrongdoing, but may add uncertainty for investors. Article: Wolf Popper announces Ionis investor investigation

Ionis Pharmaceuticals Company Profile

Ionis Pharmaceuticals is a biotechnology company that discovers and develops RNA-targeted medicines, with a focus on antisense oligonucleotides. Its medicines are designed to act on RNA and change the production of proteins linked to disease. The company’s research and development programs span neurological, cardiovascular, metabolic and rare diseases. Ionis has developed medicines that it commercializes itself and products advanced or marketed with pharmaceutical partners. Its medicines and partnered products include treatments for conditions such as spinal muscular atrophy and transthyretin amyloidosis.