Ionis Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:IONS) Price Target Cut to $115.00 by Analysts at HC Wainwright

Ionis Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:IONS) had its price objective dropped by analysts at HC Wainwright from $125.00 to $115.00 in a research note issued to investors on Thursday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has a “buy” rating on the stock. HC Wainwright’s price target would suggest a potential upside of 112.81% from the company’s current price.

Other equities analysts have also recently issued reports about the stock. Citigroup dropped their price target on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $115.00 to $100.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, July 10th. Guggenheim decreased their price objective on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $106.00 to $89.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, July 21st. Jefferies Financial Group dropped their target price on Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $113.00 to $90.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, July 9th. Oppenheimer reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $111.00 target price on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. Finally, Wolfe Research reiterated a “peer perform” rating on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals in a report on Thursday, July 16th. Eighteen research 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. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $95.10.

Ionis Pharmaceuticals Stock Down 2.3%

Shares of IONS opened at $54.04 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $8.93 billion, a PE ratio of -26.11 and a beta of 0.36. The business has a fifty day moving average of $70.48 and a 200 day moving average of $74.92. Ionis Pharmaceuticals has a 52-week low of $40.03 and a 52-week high of $86.74. The company has a quick ratio of 4.09, a current ratio of 4.10 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.75.

Ionis Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:IONS) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 29th. The company reported ($0.56) EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.85) by $0.29. Ionis Pharmaceuticals had a negative net margin of 30.91% and a negative return on equity of 58.65%. The company had revenue of $246.09 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $195.56 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned ($0.93) earnings per share. Ionis Pharmaceuticals’s quarterly revenue was up 86.4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Ionis Pharmaceuticals will post -3.71 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity at Ionis Pharmaceuticals

In other news, EVP Eugene Schneider sold 26,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $81.05, for a total transaction of $2,107,300.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 77,114 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,250,089.70. This trade represents a 25.21% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale 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 362 shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $84.30, for a total transaction of $30,516.60. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 22,096 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,862,692.80. This represents a 1.61% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders have sold a total of 233,163 shares of company stock worth $18,316,551 over the last ninety days. 1.81% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Handelsbanken Fonder AB lifted its holdings in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 79.1% in the 2nd quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB now owns 383,211 shares of the company’s stock worth $30,385,000 after buying an additional 169,300 shares during the period. Victrix Investment Advisors purchased a new position in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals during the second quarter valued at $270,000. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. increased its stake in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 21.5% during the second quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 40,927 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,245,000 after buying an additional 7,254 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its holdings in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 22.8% in the second quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 2,168 shares of the company’s stock valued at $172,000 after acquiring an additional 402 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Harbor Investment Advisory LLC bought a new stake in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals in the second quarter valued at about $112,000. 93.86% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Trending Headlines about Ionis Pharmaceuticals

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

• Positive Sentiment: Q2 results exceeded expectations. Ionis reported a quarterly loss that was narrower than analysts expected—approximately $0.43 to $0.70 per share, depending on the reporting basis—and revenue of about $268 million, well above consensus estimates near $189 million. However, revenue declined year over year, underscoring the company’s ongoing dependence on pipeline execution and partnered products. Ionis Pharmaceuticals Q2 earnings report
• Positive Sentiment: Olezarsen development is expanding. Ionis announced a Phase 3 study evaluating olezarsen in children with familial chylomicronemia syndrome, potentially broadening the drug’s addressable rare-disease population. Additional clinical progress could support the long-term value of Ionis’ commercial and late-stage pipeline. Ionis expands pediatric FCS trial for olezarsen
• Neutral Sentiment: Leadership transition announced. Chief Scientific Officer Dr. Frank Bennett plans to retire. The change may raise questions about continuity, although Ionis’ earnings materials and call emphasized progress across key programs. Ionis announces Dr. Frank Bennett retirement
• Negative Sentiment: Investors remain focused on the major trial setback. A late-stage heart-disease therapy developed with AstraZeneca failed to meet its target, triggering a sharp prior selloff and reducing confidence in Ionis’ clinical pipeline. Ionis trial failure investor scrutiny
• Negative Sentiment: Shareholder investigations add risk. Pomerantz and Hagens Berman announced investigations into whether Ionis adequately disclosed information related to the failed trial. These notices do not establish wrongdoing, but they add headline, litigation and reputational risk. Pomerantz investor investigation

About Ionis Pharmaceuticals

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.