Ionis Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:IONS) Price Target Raised to $100.00

Ionis Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:IONS) had its price target hoisted by analysts at Royal Bank Of Canada from $95.00 to $100.00 in a research report issued to clients and investors on Thursday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has an “outperform” rating on the stock. Royal Bank Of Canada’s price objective suggests a potential upside of 33.54% from the company’s current price.

Other research analysts have also issued research reports about the company. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals in a report on Tuesday, April 21st. Raymond James Financial started coverage on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals in a report on Friday, April 10th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $104.00 price target for the company. TD Cowen reduced their price target on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $110.00 to $108.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 23rd. Needham & Company LLC raised their target price on Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $103.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 25th. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered Ionis Pharmaceuticals from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Saturday, February 28th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seventeen have given a Buy rating, two have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Ionis Pharmaceuticals currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $99.35.

Ionis Pharmaceuticals Price Performance

Shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals stock traded up $0.06 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $74.89. 837,732 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,178,826. The business has a fifty day moving average of $75.46 and a two-hundred day moving average of $77.28. The company has a quick ratio of 3.81, a current ratio of 3.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.76. The company has a market capitalization of $12.36 billion, a P/E ratio of -30.76 and a beta of 0.40. Ionis Pharmaceuticals has a 1 year low of $30.01 and a 1 year high of $86.74.

Ionis Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:IONS) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 29th. The company reported ($0.56) EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.85) by $0.29. The company had revenue of $246.00 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $197.45 million. Ionis Pharmaceuticals had a negative net margin of 40.36% and a negative return on equity of 68.82%. Ionis Pharmaceuticals’s quarterly revenue was up 86.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned ($0.93) EPS. As a group, research analysts predict that Ionis Pharmaceuticals will post -4.1 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Ionis Pharmaceuticals

In other Ionis Pharmaceuticals news, Director B Lynne Parshall sold 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $76.27, for a total transaction of $381,350.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 51,344 shares in the company, valued at $3,916,006.88. This represents a 8.87% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, EVP Brian Birchler sold 973 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, April 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $75.04, for a total value of $73,013.92. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 67,500 shares in the company, valued at $5,065,200. This represents a 1.42% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Over the last three months, insiders sold 864,155 shares of company stock valued at $67,020,422. 2.71% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Ionis Pharmaceuticals

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. acquired a new stake in Ionis Pharmaceuticals in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Golden State Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 198.4% during the 3rd quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC now owns 376 shares of the company’s stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 250 shares during the last quarter. Steigerwald Gordon & Koch Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals during the third quarter worth $25,000. Mather Group LLC. acquired a new stake in Ionis Pharmaceuticals in the third quarter valued at $27,000. Finally, Quarry LP purchased a new stake in Ionis Pharmaceuticals during the 3rd quarter worth about $38,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.86% of the company’s stock.

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.