Ionis Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:IONS) Given “Buy” Rating at Needham & Company LLC

Needham & Company LLC reissued their buy rating on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:IONS) in a research report sent to investors on Tuesday morning,Benzinga reports. Needham & Company LLC currently has a $60.00 price objective on the stock.

Several other equities analysts also recently weighed in on IONS. Guggenheim reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Thursday, April 3rd. William Blair reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Friday, December 20th. Redburn Atlantic began coverage on Ionis Pharmaceuticals in a report on Monday, March 31st. They set a “neutral” rating and a $39.00 target price on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $70.00 price target on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals in a report on Thursday, February 20th. Finally, StockNews.com raised Ionis Pharmaceuticals to a “sell” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 18th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating, eleven have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $56.72.

Ionis Pharmaceuticals Trading Down 1.0 %

Shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals stock opened at $28.38 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 8.47, a quick ratio of 8.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.12. Ionis Pharmaceuticals has a twelve month low of $23.95 and a twelve month high of $52.34. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.51 billion, a PE ratio of -9.34 and a beta of 0.29. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $31.05 and its 200 day moving average price is $34.43.

Ionis Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:IONS) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, February 19th. The company reported ($0.66) earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($1.12) by $0.46. Ionis Pharmaceuticals had a negative return on equity of 100.05% and a negative net margin of 64.25%. The business had revenue of $227.00 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $140.97 million. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.12 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 30.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Ionis Pharmaceuticals will post -3.5 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Ionis Pharmaceuticals

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

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Ionis Pharmaceuticals

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Fifth Third Bancorp increased its position in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 4.8% during the first quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 9,989 shares of the company’s stock worth $301,000 after acquiring an additional 458 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its stake in Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 3,786.5% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 28,993 shares of the company’s stock worth $961,000 after purchasing an additional 28,247 shares in the last quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System increased its holdings in Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 6.1% during the 4th quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 133,902 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,681,000 after purchasing an additional 7,722 shares during the period. GF Fund Management CO. LTD. acquired a new stake in Ionis Pharmaceuticals in the 4th quarter valued at about $116,000. Finally, Woodline Partners LP purchased a new position in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals in the 4th quarter valued at about $3,762,000. 93.86% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.