Needham & Company LLC Has Lowered Expectations for Ionis Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:IONS) Stock Price

Ionis Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:IONS) had its price objective dropped by stock analysts at Needham & Company LLC from $86.00 to $54.00 in a research report issued to clients and investors on Monday, Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has a “buy” rating on the stock. Needham & Company LLC‘s price target indicates a potential upside of 74.19% from the company’s previous close.

Other research analysts have also recently issued research reports about the company. Oppenheimer restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $85.00 price target on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Thursday, September 24th. Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $110.00 to $104.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, September 8th. Royal Bank Of Canada decreased their target price on Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $100.00 to $85.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, July 13th. Canaccord Genuity Group lowered their target price on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $95.00 to $85.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, September 8th. Finally, TD Cowen reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals in a report on Tuesday, September 8th. Nineteen equities 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.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $85.33.

Ionis Pharmaceuticals Price Performance

Shares of IONS opened at $31.00 on Monday. Ionis Pharmaceuticals has a twelve month low of $27.75 and a twelve month high of $86.74. The company has a market capitalization of $5.15 billion, a P/E ratio of -8.96 and a beta of 0.43. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $46.20 and a 200 day moving average of $65.63. The company has a quick ratio of 7.73, a current ratio of 7.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.07.

Ionis Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:IONS) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, November 9th. The company reported ($0.66) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($1.23) by $0.57. The business had revenue of $242.72 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $178.17 million. Ionis Pharmaceuticals had a negative return on equity of 111.08% and a negative net margin of 64.76%. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted ($0.80) EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 54.8% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Ionis Pharmaceuticals will post -3.62 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Ionis Pharmaceuticals

In other news, EVP Shannon Devers sold 1,357 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, October 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $43.54, for a total value of $59,083.78. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 17,811 shares in the company, valued at $775,490.94. This trade represents a 7.08% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. 1.81% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of IONS. Edgestream Partners L.P. purchased a new stake in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals during the 3rd quarter valued at about $807,000. Ground Swell Capital LLC purchased a new position in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals in the third quarter worth approximately $547,000. Allworth Financial LP boosted its holdings in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 79.8% in the third quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 928 shares of the company’s stock worth $41,000 after buying an additional 412 shares during the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC grew its position in Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 33.4% during the third quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 182,997 shares of the company’s stock valued at $8,171,000 after buying an additional 45,813 shares during the period. Finally, Russell Investments Group Ltd. grew its position in Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 110.0% during the third quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 170,799 shares of the company’s stock valued at $7,773,000 after buying an additional 89,480 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 93.86% of the company’s stock.

Key Stories Impacting Ionis Pharmaceuticals

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

• Positive Sentiment: Third-quarter revenue increased 54.8% year over year to $242.7 million, exceeding analysts’ expectations, while the $0.66-per-share loss was narrower than the $1.23 loss forecast. Read More.
• Positive Sentiment: DAWNZERA sales rose 40% to $37 million in the quarter, offering evidence of growth in another commercial product. Read More.
• Neutral Sentiment: Ionis issued 2026 total revenue guidance of $875 million to $900 million, below analysts’ $920.8 million consensus estimate; the company also reaffirmed its full-year guidance. Read More.
• Negative Sentiment: The main concern is TRYNGOLZA: Ionis cut its 2026 sales outlook to about $50 million, down from its prior $100 million–$110 million target, citing a slower launch. The sharp reduction raises doubts about the drug’s near-term commercial potential and overshadowed the earnings beat. Read More.

About Ionis Pharmaceuticals

Ionis Pharmaceuticals is a biotechnology company that discovers and develops RNA-targeted medicines, with a focus on antisense oligonucleotides. Its medicines are designed to act on RNA and change the production of proteins linked to disease. The company’s research and development programs span neurological, cardiovascular, metabolic and rare diseases.

Ionis has developed medicines that it commercializes itself and products advanced or marketed with pharmaceutical partners. Its medicines and partnered products include treatments for conditions such as spinal muscular atrophy and transthyretin amyloidosis.