Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:IONS) Receives Consensus Rating of “Moderate Buy” from Brokerages

Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:IONS) has been given a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by the nineteen ratings firms that are covering the stock, MarketBeat.com reports. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating, twelve have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. The average twelve-month price target among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $60.65.

A number of analysts have weighed in on the stock. Piper Sandler decreased their target price on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $65.00 to $62.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, November 14th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $50.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, August 26th. Guggenheim dropped their target price on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $70.00 to $65.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, October 9th. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $70.00 price target on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals in a report on Thursday, September 26th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $82.00 to $77.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, November 7th.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Brett P. Monia sold 6,630 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $38.05, for a total transaction of $252,271.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 167,393 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,369,303.65. This represents a 3.81 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Eric Swayze sold 1,194 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $37.92, for a total value of $45,276.48. Following the completion of the transaction, 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. Insiders have sold a total of 7,877 shares of company stock valued at $299,578 in the last 90 days. 2.71% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Ionis Pharmaceuticals

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in IONS. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its position in Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 83.9% during the third quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 664 shares of the company’s stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 303 shares during the period. nVerses Capital LLC bought a new position in Ionis Pharmaceuticals in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $29,000. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. purchased a new position in Ionis Pharmaceuticals in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $37,000. Capital Performance Advisors LLP bought a new stake in Ionis Pharmaceuticals during the 3rd quarter valued at $40,000. Finally, Prospera Private Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals during the third quarter worth $42,000. 93.86% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Ionis Pharmaceuticals Trading Down 1.1 %

Shares of IONS stock opened at $36.61 on Friday. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $37.52 and a 200-day moving average of $42.28. The company has a current ratio of 8.91, a quick ratio of 8.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.86. The stock has a market cap of $5.78 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -15.00 and a beta of 0.35. Ionis Pharmaceuticals has a 1-year low of $33.33 and a 1-year high of $54.44.

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.