Ionis Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:IONS) Price Target Lowered to $45.00 at BMO Capital Markets

Ionis Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:IONS) had its price objective cut by BMO Capital Markets from $60.00 to $45.00 in a research note issued to investors on Thursday morning,Benzinga reports. They currently have a market perform rating on the stock.

Several other equities analysts have also weighed in on the stock. William Blair reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals in a report on Friday, December 20th. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $60.00 price objective on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals in a report on Thursday. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $70.00 price objective on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Wednesday, January 15th. Piper Sandler reduced their target price on Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $65.00 to $62.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, November 14th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $82.00 to $77.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, November 7th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating, thirteen have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $60.00.

Ionis Pharmaceuticals Stock Performance

Shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals stock opened at $32.69 on Thursday. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $33.73 and its 200 day moving average price is $38.46. The company has a market cap of $5.16 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -13.40 and a beta of 0.34. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.86, a quick ratio of 8.82 and a current ratio of 8.91. Ionis Pharmaceuticals has a one year low of $30.23 and a one year high of $52.34.

Ionis Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:IONS) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 19th. The company reported ($0.66) EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($1.12) by $0.46. The business had revenue of $227.00 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $140.97 million. Ionis Pharmaceuticals had a negative return on equity of 88.98% and a negative net margin of 44.58%. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 30.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.12 EPS. On average, research analysts predict that Ionis Pharmaceuticals will post -3.47 EPS for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Patrick R. O’neil sold 6,165 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $31.62, for a total transaction of $194,937.30. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 57,452 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,816,632.24. The trade was a 9.69 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Brett P. Monia sold 38,843 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $31.65, for a total value of $1,229,380.95. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 180,683 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,718,616.95. This trade represents a 17.69 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 110,609 shares of company stock worth $3,564,867 in the last ninety days. 2.71% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Ionis Pharmaceuticals

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in IONS. Signaturefd LLC raised its holdings in Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 160.0% in the fourth quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 949 shares of the company’s stock valued at $33,000 after acquiring an additional 584 shares in the last quarter. Huntington National Bank increased its position in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 193.5% in the 4th quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 951 shares of the company’s stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 627 shares during the last quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC raised its holdings in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 183.8% in the 4th quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC now owns 1,036 shares of the company’s stock valued at $36,000 after purchasing an additional 671 shares in the last quarter. Capital Performance Advisors LLP purchased a new stake in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals during the 3rd quarter worth $40,000. Finally, Prospera Private Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals during the 3rd quarter worth $42,000. 93.86% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Ionis Pharmaceuticals

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.