JPMorgan Chase & Co. Cuts Ionis Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:IONS) Price Target to $70.00

Ionis Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:IONS) had its price objective lowered by JPMorgan Chase & Co. from $76.00 to $70.00 in a research report released on Tuesday morning,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an overweight rating on the stock.

Several other equities research analysts have also commented on the stock. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Friday, July 17th. BMO Capital Markets decreased their price objective on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $61.00 to $54.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, September 8th. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $86.00 price objective on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals in a report on Friday, September 4th. Guggenheim cut their target price on Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $89.00 to $80.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, September 15th. Finally, Wolfe Research reissued a “peer perform” rating on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals in a report on Thursday, July 16th. Seventeen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $89.20.

Ionis Pharmaceuticals Price Performance

IONS stock opened at $43.81 on Tuesday. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $55.12 and a 200 day moving average price of $67.40. The company has a quick ratio of 7.73, a current ratio of 7.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.07. The stock has a market cap of $7.28 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -12.66 and a beta of 0.42. Ionis Pharmaceuticals has a fifty-two week low of $43.01 and a fifty-two week high of $86.74.

Insider Buying and Selling at Ionis Pharmaceuticals

In other Ionis Pharmaceuticals news, EVP C. Bennett sold 15,000 shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $85.46, for a total value of $1,281,900.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 75,018 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,411,038.28. The trade was a 16.66% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, EVP Holly B. Kordasiewicz sold 362 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $84.30, for a total transaction of $30,516.60. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 22,096 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,862,692.80. The trade was a 1.61% decrease in their ownership of the stock. 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 31,009 shares of company stock worth $2,638,797 in the last quarter. 1.81% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Ionis Pharmaceuticals

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Capital World Investors raised its stake in Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 41.2% during the 4th quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 17,961,299 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,420,918,000 after acquiring an additional 5,238,571 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 2.7% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 3,148,849 shares of the company’s stock worth $249,158,000 after acquiring an additional 82,560 shares during the period. Baker BROS. Advisors LP grew its stake in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 216.1% in the 4th quarter. Baker BROS. Advisors LP now owns 1,791,841 shares of the company’s stock valued at $141,753,000 after purchasing an additional 1,225,043 shares during the last quarter. Alyeska Investment Group L.P. grew its stake 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 last quarter. Finally, Pictet Asset Management Holding SA increased its holdings in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 1.2% in the first quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA now owns 1,434,995 shares of the company’s stock valued at $107,077,000 after purchasing an additional 16,504 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.86% of the company’s stock.

Ionis Pharmaceuticals News Summary

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

• Positive Sentiment: Ionis and partner Roche reported that the Phase 3 IMAgINATION study of investigational sefaxersen in IgA nephropathy met its primary endpoint. The treatment produced statistically significant and clinically meaningful proteinuria reduction versus placebo at 37 weeks, supporting the potential for a major partnered kidney-disease product. Ionis announces positive interim data from partner Roche’s Phase 3 IMAgINATION study in IgA nephropathy
• Positive Sentiment: Additional coverage highlighted positive late-stage results for two partnered medicines: sefaxersen reduced proteinuria in IgA nephropathy, while ulefnersen met its Phase 3 endpoint in ALS. The results strengthen Ionis’s partnered pipeline and potential royalty and milestone opportunities. Ionis Delivers Positive Late-Stage Results for Two Partnered Drugs
• Positive Sentiment: HC Wainwright reaffirmed a Buy rating and set a $100 price target, implying substantial upside from recent trading levels. Canaccord Genuity also maintained its Buy recommendation, indicating continued analyst confidence in Ionis’s drug-development platform.
• Neutral Sentiment: Reported short interest was listed at zero shares and a zero-day short-interest ratio. This unusual figure is unlikely to provide a meaningful signal and may reflect a reporting or data issue rather than a genuine change in investor positioning.
• Negative Sentiment: A market commentary argues that IONS still looks expensive even after a roughly 45% year-to-date decline. That valuation concern, along with the stock’s substantial fall below its moving averages, may be limiting the market’s response to the positive clinical news. Ionis Pharmaceuticals Stock Looks Pricey On Its 45% YTD Slide

Ionis Pharmaceuticals Company Profile

Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc is a biotechnology company that discovers and develops medicines using antisense technology, which is designed to target RNA and influence the production of disease-related proteins. The company focuses on neurological, cardiovascular, metabolic and other serious diseases for which there remains a significant unmet medical need.

Ionis has developed several approved therapies, including SPINRAZA (nusinersen) for spinal muscular atrophy, QALSODY (tofersen) for a form of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, TEGSEDI (inotersen) for hereditary transthyretin-mediated amyloidosis and WAYLIVRA (volanesorsen) for familial chylomicronemia syndrome in certain markets.