Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:IONS) Receives $94.65 Average Target Price from Brokerages

Shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:IONS) have earned a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the twenty-two ratings firms that are presently covering the firm, MarketBeat.com reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and eighteen have issued a buy rating on the company. The average twelve-month price objective among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $94.65.

Several brokerages have weighed in on IONS. Raymond James Financial set a $87.00 price objective on Ionis Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Thursday, July 9th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $72.00 to $76.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, August 3rd. Guggenheim lowered their price target on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $106.00 to $89.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, July 21st. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $100.00 to $95.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, July 30th. Finally, Oppenheimer reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $111.00 price target on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals in a report on Thursday, April 30th.

Insider Activity

In other Ionis Pharmaceuticals news, EVP Eugene Schneider sold 26,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $81.05, for a total value of $2,107,300.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 77,114 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,250,089.70. This trade represents a 25.21% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, Director Michael R. Hayden bought 15,000 shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 30th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $53.38 per share, for a total transaction of $800,700.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director directly owned 19,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,014,220. This trade represents a 375.00% increase in their position. Additional details regarding this purchase are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last quarter, insiders sold 233,163 shares of company stock valued at $18,316,551. 1.81% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Ionis Pharmaceuticals

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Capital World Investors raised its holdings in Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 41.2% in the 4th quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 17,961,299 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,420,918,000 after purchasing an additional 5,238,571 shares in the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 19,941.6% during the 4th quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 1,321,345 shares of the company’s stock valued at $104,532,000 after purchasing an additional 1,314,752 shares in the last quarter. Baker BROS. Advisors LP increased its position in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 216.1% during the fourth quarter. Baker BROS. Advisors LP now owns 1,791,841 shares of the company’s stock valued at $141,753,000 after buying an additional 1,225,043 shares during the period. Marshall Wace LLP increased its position in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 7,219.3% during the third quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 958,829 shares of the company’s stock valued at $62,727,000 after buying an additional 945,729 shares during the period. Finally, Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership bought a new position in Ionis Pharmaceuticals in the third quarter worth about $41,223,000. Institutional investors own 93.86% of the company’s stock.

Ionis Pharmaceuticals Trading Up 2.0%

NASDAQ IONS opened at $56.53 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $9.39 billion, a PE ratio of -16.34 and a beta of 0.41. Ionis Pharmaceuticals has a 1-year low of $41.54 and a 1-year high of $86.74. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $66.35 and a 200-day moving average of $73.23. The company has a current ratio of 7.89, a quick ratio of 7.73 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.07.

About Ionis Pharmaceuticals

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.