Ionis Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:IONS) Price Target Cut to $95.00 by Analysts at Canaccord Genuity Group

Ionis Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:IONS) had its price target reduced by Canaccord Genuity Group from $110.00 to $95.00 in a research note issued to investors on Friday morning, MarketBeat.com reports. Canaccord Genuity Group currently has a buy rating on the stock.

Several other equities research analysts have also recently commented on the stock. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Tuesday, April 21st. Citigroup reduced their price objective on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $115.00 to $100.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday. Needham & Company LLC lowered their target price on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $105.00 to $86.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday. TD Cowen reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $108.00 price objective on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Monday, June 15th. Finally, Barclays dropped their price objective on Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $115.00 to $90.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday. Eighteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Ionis Pharmaceuticals currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $96.80.

Ionis Pharmaceuticals Trading Down 9.4%

Shares of IONS traded down $6.02 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $58.25. 11,439,176 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,922,914. The business has a fifty day moving average of $75.78 and a 200-day moving average of $77.27. The firm has a market capitalization of $9.63 billion, a PE ratio of -28.14 and a beta of 0.36. Ionis Pharmaceuticals has a 1-year low of $40.03 and a 1-year high of $86.74. The company has a current ratio of 4.10, a quick ratio of 4.09 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.75.

Ionis Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:IONS) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 29th. The company reported ($0.56) EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.85) by $0.29. Ionis Pharmaceuticals had a negative return on equity of 58.65% and a negative net margin of 30.91%.The firm had revenue of $246.09 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $195.56 million. During the same period last year, the company earned ($0.93) earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 86.4% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts expect that Ionis Pharmaceuticals will post -3.69 EPS for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Ionis Pharmaceuticals news, EVP Holly B. Kordasiewicz sold 362 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $84.30, for a total value of $30,516.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 22,096 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,862,692.80. The trade was a 1.61% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, EVP Patrick R. O’neil sold 3,069 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $80.00, for a total value of $245,520.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 61,470 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,917,600. This trade represents a 4.76% 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 244,038 shares of company stock worth $19,139,399 over the last 90 days. 1.81% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Ionis Pharmaceuticals

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of IONS. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. raised its holdings in Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 72.5% during the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 652,518 shares of the company’s stock worth $19,686,000 after buying an additional 274,310 shares during the period. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC raised its holdings in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 6.4% during the first quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 659,435 shares of the company’s stock worth $19,895,000 after acquiring an additional 39,794 shares during the period. Focus Partners Wealth lifted its position in Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 30.1% in the 1st quarter. Focus Partners Wealth now owns 9,832 shares of the company’s stock valued at $297,000 after acquiring an additional 2,277 shares in the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. bought a new stake in Ionis Pharmaceuticals in the 2nd quarter valued at $220,000. Finally, Prudential Financial Inc. boosted its stake in Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 47.8% in the 2nd quarter. Prudential Financial Inc. now owns 9,254 shares of the company’s stock worth $341,000 after purchasing an additional 2,991 shares during the period. 93.86% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

More Ionis Pharmaceuticals News

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

• Negative Sentiment: Ionis and AstraZeneca disclosed that the Phase 3 CARDIO-TTRansform trial for eplontersen in ATTR-CM failed to hit its main efficacy goal, a major setback for a key partnered drug. Article Title
• Negative Sentiment: Reuters reported that the AstraZeneca-Ionis heart drug also missed its main goal of reducing cardiovascular deaths and recurrent heart problems, reinforcing investor concerns about the program. Article Title
• Negative Sentiment: Several insiders, including an executive vice president and a director, disclosed stock sales under pre-arranged 10b5-1 plans, adding to near-term caution.
• Negative Sentiment: Traders bought an unusually large number of put options, suggesting some market participants are positioning for further downside.
• Neutral Sentiment: Multiple analysts cut price targets on IONS, but most kept Buy/Overweight ratings, indicating valuation confidence even after the setback. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: HC Wainwright, Morgan Stanley, Canaccord Genuity, and Needham all lowered targets, with Needham trimming its target to $86 from $105 while maintaining a Buy rating. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: Ionis updated FY2026 revenue guidance to $875 million-$900 million, roughly in line with expectations, which does little to offset the clinical disappointment.

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.