William Blair Brokers Decrease Earnings Estimates for IONS

Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:IONS) – Equities researchers at William Blair decreased their FY2028 earnings per share estimates for Ionis Pharmaceuticals in a note issued to investors on Friday, December 20th. William Blair analyst M. Minter now expects that the company will post earnings per share of $2.07 for the year, down from their prior forecast of $2.26. William Blair has a “Outperform” rating on the stock. The consensus estimate for Ionis Pharmaceuticals’ current full-year earnings is ($3.37) per share.

A number of other equities research analysts have also weighed in on the stock. Needham & Company LLC restated a “buy” rating and issued a $60.00 price objective on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals in a report on Friday, December 20th. Piper Sandler decreased their price objective on Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $65.00 to $62.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, November 14th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $82.00 to $77.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, November 7th. StockNews.com downgraded Ionis Pharmaceuticals from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 12th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $70.00 target price on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals in a report on Thursday, September 26th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating, twelve have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Ionis Pharmaceuticals has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $60.65.

Ionis Pharmaceuticals Stock Performance

NASDAQ:IONS opened at $36.53 on Monday. Ionis Pharmaceuticals has a 1-year low of $33.33 and a 1-year high of $54.44. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.86, a current ratio of 8.91 and a quick ratio of 8.82. The business has a 50 day moving average of $37.30 and a 200 day moving average of $42.24. The company has a market capitalization of $5.77 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -14.97 and a beta of 0.35.

Insider Buying and Selling at Ionis Pharmaceuticals

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

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 7.4% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,668,358 shares of the company’s stock valued at $106,922,000 after purchasing an additional 183,814 shares during the period. Great Point Partners LLC purchased a new stake in Ionis Pharmaceuticals in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $15,728,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its holdings in Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 8.7% during the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,443,020 shares of the company’s stock valued at $57,807,000 after purchasing an additional 114,914 shares in the last quarter. DRW Securities LLC bought a new position in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals in the second quarter worth approximately $2,429,000. Finally, Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 13.6% during the 3rd quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. now owns 650,779 shares of the company’s stock valued at $26,070,000 after purchasing an additional 77,909 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.86% of the company’s stock.

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.