Needham & Company LLC Cuts Ionis Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:IONS) Price Target to $86.00

Ionis Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:IONS) had its price target decreased by investment analysts at Needham & Company LLC from $105.00 to $86.00 in a research report issued to clients and investors on Thursday, MarketBeat reports. The firm currently has a “buy” rating on the stock. Needham & Company LLC’s target price points to a potential upside of 33.22% from the stock’s previous close.

A number of other research analysts have also weighed in on the company. Canaccord Genuity Group began coverage on Ionis Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Monday, April 20th. They set a “buy” rating and a $110.00 price target on the stock. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Tuesday, April 21st. Citigroup began coverage on Ionis Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Monday, May 18th. They set a “buy” rating and a $115.00 target price on the stock. HC Wainwright upped their price objective on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $125.00 to $130.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, June 25th. Finally, TD Cowen reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $108.00 target price on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Monday, June 15th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have assigned a Buy rating, two have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $101.10.

Ionis Pharmaceuticals Stock Down 23.6%

Ionis Pharmaceuticals stock traded down $19.91 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $64.55. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 14,292,831 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,176,979. The company has a market cap of $10.67 billion, a P/E ratio of -31.14 and a beta of 0.36. The company has a quick ratio of 4.09, a current ratio of 4.10 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.75. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $76.27 and a 200-day simple moving average of $77.51. Ionis Pharmaceuticals has a fifty-two week low of $40.03 and a fifty-two week high of $86.74.

Ionis Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:IONS) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The company reported ($0.56) earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.85) by $0.29. Ionis Pharmaceuticals had a negative return on equity of 58.65% and a negative net margin of 30.91%.The firm had revenue of $246.09 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $195.56 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned ($0.93) earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 86.4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts expect that Ionis Pharmaceuticals will post -3.69 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Ionis Pharmaceuticals news, CEO Brett P. Monia sold 50,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $80.59, for a total transaction of $4,029,500.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 245,571 shares in the company, valued at approximately $19,790,566.89. The trade was a 16.92% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, EVP Eugene Schneider sold 26,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $81.05, for a total transaction of $2,107,300.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 77,114 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,250,089.70. The trade was a 25.21% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 213,029 shares of company stock worth $16,500,601. 1.81% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Ionis Pharmaceuticals

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. acquired a new stake in Ionis Pharmaceuticals during the 4th quarter valued at $27,000. Cassaday & Co Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals in the first quarter worth $30,000. Quarry LP purchased a new position in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals during the third quarter valued at $38,000. Johnson Financial Group Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals during the third quarter valued at $44,000. Finally, Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Ionis Pharmaceuticals during the fourth quarter valued at $47,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.86% of the company’s stock.

Key Headlines Impacting Ionis Pharmaceuticals

Here are the key news stories impacting Ionis Pharmaceuticals this week:

• Negative Sentiment: Ionis and AstraZeneca said the CARDIO-TTRansform Phase 3 trial of eplontersen in ATTR-CM did not meet its primary endpoint, weakening expectations for the drug’s future sales potential. Article Title
• Negative Sentiment: Reuters reported that AstraZeneca and Ionis’ drug failed to reduce cardiovascular deaths and recurrent heart problems in the late-stage study, adding to investor worries about pipeline risk. Article Title
• Negative Sentiment: Market commentary highlighted that IONS was headed for its biggest single-day slump in more than five years as traders reacted to the trial miss and reassessed the stock’s near-term outlook. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: Ionis also saw unusually large options activity, with heavy put buying suggesting traders are hedging for more downside or speculating on continued volatility.
• Neutral Sentiment: Some bullish items remain in the background, including recent FDA approval for Tryngolza and completion of enrollment in the pivotal Angelman syndrome study, but these were overshadowed by the trial failure. Article Title

Ionis Pharmaceuticals Company Profile

Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc is a biotechnology company focused on the discovery and development of RNA-targeted therapies designed to modulate gene expression. The company’s proprietary antisense oligonucleotide (ASO) technology enables the selective binding of short synthetic strands of nucleic acids to messenger RNA (mRNA), thereby inhibiting or altering the production of disease-causing proteins. Ionis’ pipeline spans a range of therapeutic areas, including neurological disorders, cardiovascular conditions, metabolic diseases and rare genetic disorders.

Since its founding in 1989 by Dr.