Ionis Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:IONS) Raised to Outperform at BMO Capital Markets

Ionis Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:IONS) was upgraded by investment analysts at BMO Capital Markets from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research note issued to investors on Thursday, Briefing.com reports. The firm currently has a $66.00 target price on the stock. BMO Capital Markets’ price objective would suggest a potential upside of 49.09% from the company’s current price.

IONS has been the topic of a number of other research reports. Royal Bank Of Canada lowered their target price on Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $100.00 to $85.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, July 13th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $76.00 to $70.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, September 22nd. Leerink Partners boosted their price target on Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $122.00 to $129.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, June 25th. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Saturday, August 1st. Finally, Oppenheimer reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $85.00 price target on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Thursday, September 24th. Nineteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $89.48.

Ionis Pharmaceuticals Price Performance

NASDAQ IONS opened at $44.27 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $7.36 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -12.79 and a beta of 0.38. Ionis Pharmaceuticals has a 1-year low of $42.08 and a 1-year high of $86.74. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.07, a current ratio of 7.89 and a quick ratio of 7.73. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $51.06 and its 200-day moving average price is $63.55.

Insider Buying and Selling at Ionis Pharmaceuticals

In other Ionis Pharmaceuticals news, EVP Shannon Devers sold 1,357 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, October 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $43.54, for a total transaction of $59,083.78. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 17,811 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $775,490.94. The trade was a 7.08% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Also, Director Michael Hayden purchased 15,000 shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction on Thursday, July 30th. The stock was bought at an average price of $53.38 per share, with a total value of $800,700.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 19,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,014,220. This represents a 375.00% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase is available in the SEC filing. 1.81% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Ionis Pharmaceuticals

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Checchi Capital Advisers LLC increased its stake in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 3.7% in the first quarter. Checchi Capital Advisers LLC now owns 4,429 shares of the company’s stock worth $333,000 after purchasing an additional 157 shares in the last quarter. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC lifted its stake in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 7.4% during the 2nd quarter. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC now owns 2,926 shares of the company’s stock valued at $232,000 after buying an additional 202 shares in the last quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 7.6% during the 2nd quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 4,084 shares of the company’s stock valued at $324,000 after buying an additional 287 shares in the last quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 64.8% in the 3rd quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 956 shares of the company’s stock worth $43,000 after buying an additional 376 shares during the period. Finally, Cassaday & Co Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Ionis Pharmaceuticals in the 1st quarter worth $30,000. 93.86% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Ionis Pharmaceuticals Company Profile

Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc is a biotechnology company focused on discovering and developing medicines using antisense technology. Its platform is designed to selectively target RNA and regulate the production of disease-related proteins. The company develops therapies for neurological, cardiovascular and metabolic, and rare diseases.

Ionis has developed and commercialized medicines both independently and through collaborations with larger pharmaceutical companies. Its marketed or partnered products include Spinraza (nusinersen) for spinal muscular atrophy, Tegsedi (inotersen) and Wainua (eplontersen) for hereditary transthyretin amyloidosis, and Tryngolza (olezarsen) for familial chylomicronemia syndrome.