Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:IONS) Given Consensus Rating of “Moderate Buy” by Analysts

Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:IONS) has been assigned a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the nineteen brokerages that are currently covering the company, Marketbeat Ratings reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating, twelve have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating on the company. The average 12 month target price among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $60.65.

IONS has been the topic of several recent research reports. BMO Capital Markets downgraded Ionis Pharmaceuticals from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and cut their price target for the stock from $67.00 to $60.00 in a report on Friday, August 2nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $50.00 to $55.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, August 26th. StockNews.com lowered shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 12th. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price objective on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $33.00 to $37.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $82.00 to $77.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, November 7th.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Brett P. Monia sold 6,630 shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $38.05, for a total value of $252,271.50. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 167,393 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,369,303.65. This trade represents a 3.81 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Eric Swayze sold 1,194 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $37.92, for a total value of $45,276.48. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 33,713 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,278,396.96. The trade was a 3.42 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 8,197 shares of company stock worth $315,310. Corporate insiders own 2.71% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Ionis Pharmaceuticals

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in IONS. SG Americas Securities LLC boosted its stake in Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 23.7% in the 1st quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 7,582 shares of the company’s stock worth $329,000 after purchasing an additional 1,453 shares during the period. ProShare Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 11.4% in the first quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 10,216 shares of the company’s stock worth $443,000 after buying an additional 1,049 shares during the period. Blair William & Co. IL grew its holdings in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 67.4% during the first quarter. Blair William & Co. IL now owns 27,838 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,207,000 after buying an additional 11,210 shares in the last quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in Ionis Pharmaceuticals during the first quarter valued at $255,000. Finally, Edgestream Partners L.P. purchased a new stake in Ionis Pharmaceuticals in the 1st quarter worth about $765,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.86% of the company’s stock.

Ionis Pharmaceuticals Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ IONS opened at $35.46 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 8.82, a current ratio of 8.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.86. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $38.70 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $42.49. Ionis Pharmaceuticals has a 52-week low of $33.33 and a 52-week high of $54.44. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.60 billion, a P/E ratio of -14.53 and a beta of 0.39.

Ionis Pharmaceuticals Company Profile

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.