Ionis Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:IONS) Receives Outperform Rating from Royal Bank of Canada

Ionis Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:IONS)‘s stock had its “outperform” rating reiterated by analysts at Royal Bank of Canada in a report released on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. They presently have a $70.00 price objective on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada’s target price points to a potential upside of 109.14% from the company’s previous close.

Other research analysts have also issued reports about the stock. William Blair reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Friday, December 20th. Needham & Company LLC reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $60.00 price target on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals in a report on Friday, December 20th. Guggenheim reduced their price objective on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $70.00 to $65.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, October 9th. StockNews.com lowered Ionis Pharmaceuticals from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 12th. Finally, Piper Sandler decreased their price target on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $65.00 to $62.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, November 14th. Two analysts have 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. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $60.65.

Ionis Pharmaceuticals Stock Performance

Shares of IONS traded up $0.78 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $33.47. The stock had a trading volume of 176,771 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,244,565. Ionis Pharmaceuticals has a 52 week low of $32.61 and a 52 week high of $53.17. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.86, a current ratio of 8.91 and a quick ratio of 8.82. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $36.03 and a 200-day moving average price of $41.40. The firm has a market cap of $5.28 billion, a P/E ratio of -13.72 and a beta of 0.35.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Ionis Pharmaceuticals news, Director Michael R. Hayden bought 5,000 shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 23rd. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $36.22 per share, with a total value of $181,100.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 35,219 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,275,632.18. This represents a 16.55 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Brett P. Monia sold 6,630 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $38.05, for a total transaction of $252,271.50. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 167,393 shares in the company, valued at $6,369,303.65. The trade was a 3.81 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 2.71% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Ionis Pharmaceuticals

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its position in Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 83.9% during the 3rd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 664 shares of the company’s stock valued at $27,000 after buying an additional 303 shares in the last quarter. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. purchased a new position in Ionis Pharmaceuticals in the second quarter worth about $37,000. Capital Performance Advisors LLP bought a new position in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals in the third quarter worth approximately $40,000. Prospera Private Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals during the third quarter valued at approximately $42,000. Finally, Quantbot Technologies LP bought a new position in Ionis Pharmaceuticals in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $51,000. 93.86% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.