Ionis Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:IONS) Now Covered by Redburn Atlantic

Redburn Atlantic began coverage on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:IONS) in a research report released on Monday, MarketBeat Ratings reports. The brokerage issued a neutral rating and a $39.00 target price on the stock.

A number of other research analysts have also recently weighed in on the stock. Needham & Company LLC reissued a “buy” rating and set a $60.00 price objective on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Thursday, February 20th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $47.00 to $45.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, March 24th. Citigroup reduced their price objective on Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $67.00 to $64.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, February 20th. StockNews.com upgraded Ionis Pharmaceuticals to a “sell” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 18th. Finally, William Blair restated an “outperform” rating on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals in a report on Friday, December 20th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating, thirteen have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $58.37.

Ionis Pharmaceuticals Stock Up 5.3 %

Ionis Pharmaceuticals stock opened at $28.71 on Monday. Ionis Pharmaceuticals has a fifty-two week low of $27.00 and a fifty-two week high of $52.34. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.56 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -9.44 and a beta of 0.28. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $32.32 and its two-hundred day moving average is $35.47. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.12, a quick ratio of 8.82 and a current ratio of 8.47.

Ionis Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:IONS) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 19th. The company reported ($0.66) EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of ($1.12) by $0.46. Ionis Pharmaceuticals had a negative net margin of 64.25% and a negative return on equity of 100.05%. The firm had revenue of $227.00 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $140.97 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.12 EPS. The firm’s revenue was down 30.2% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts predict that Ionis Pharmaceuticals will post -3.5 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Brett P. Monia sold 33,445 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $32.63, for a total value of $1,091,310.35. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 207,396 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,767,331.48. This trade represents a 13.89 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Patrick R. O’neil sold 1,207 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $32.35, for a total transaction of $39,046.45. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 56,245 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,819,525.75. This represents a 2.10 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 111,956 shares of company stock valued at $3,608,439 in the last ninety days. Company insiders own 2.71% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Ionis Pharmaceuticals

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in IONS. California State Teachers Retirement System raised its position in Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 6.1% in the fourth quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 133,902 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,681,000 after purchasing an additional 7,722 shares during the period. GF Fund Management CO. LTD. purchased a new stake in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals during the 4th quarter valued at about $116,000. Woodline Partners LP purchased a new stake in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals during the 4th quarter valued at about $3,762,000. Vestal Point Capital LP purchased a new position in Ionis Pharmaceuticals in the 4th quarter worth approximately $20,801,000. Finally, Two Sigma Advisers LP boosted its holdings in Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 1.3% in the 4th quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP now owns 1,349,211 shares of the company’s stock worth $47,168,000 after acquiring an additional 16,800 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.86% of the company’s stock.

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.