Ionis Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:IONS) Stock Gets Price Target Cut from Oppenheimer

Ionis Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:IONS) had its price objective lowered by Oppenheimer from $85.00 to $70.00 in a research report sent to investors on Tuesday morning,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an outperform rating on the stock.

Several other research analysts also recently weighed in on the company. Barclays lowered their target price on Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $90.00 to $85.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, September 9th. Citigroup restated a “buy” rating on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Wednesday, October 21st. Needham & Company LLC decreased their price target on Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $86.00 to $54.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Monday. UBS Group initiated coverage on Ionis Pharmaceuticals in a report on Thursday, October 15th. They set a “buy” rating and a $88.00 price target for the company. Finally, BMO Capital Markets upgraded shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $54.00 to $66.00 in a research report on Thursday, October 22nd. Nineteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $78.00.

Ionis Pharmaceuticals Stock Performance

NASDAQ IONS opened at $27.31 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 7.73, a current ratio of 5.43 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.42. Ionis Pharmaceuticals has a 52-week low of $27.28 and a 52-week high of $86.74. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $44.23 and its 200 day moving average price is $64.84. The firm has a market cap of $4.55 billion, a P/E ratio of -8.23 and a beta of 0.43.

Ionis Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:IONS) last issued its quarterly earnings results 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 firm 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 120.62% and a negative net margin of 56.98%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 54.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted ($0.80) EPS. On average, equities research analysts expect that Ionis Pharmaceuticals will post -3.62 earnings per share for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Ionis Pharmaceuticals news, EVP Shannon Devers sold 1,357 shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction that occurred 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 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 position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Corporate insiders own 1.81% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Ionis Pharmaceuticals

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of IONS. Alyeska Investment Group L.P. grew its holdings in Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 199.7% during the second quarter. Alyeska Investment Group L.P. now owns 1,417,916 shares of the company’s stock worth $112,427,000 after acquiring an additional 944,766 shares during the period. Bank of America Corp DE acquired a new stake in Ionis Pharmaceuticals in the second quarter valued at $62,718,000. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. acquired a new stake in Ionis Pharmaceuticals in the second quarter valued at $54,253,000. TimesSquare Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in Ionis Pharmaceuticals in the second quarter valued at $48,690,000. Finally, GW&K Investment Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 79.6% during the 3rd quarter. GW&K Investment Management LLC now owns 1,341,315 shares of the company’s stock worth $59,890,000 after purchasing an additional 594,349 shares in the last quarter. 93.86% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Key Headlines Impacting Ionis Pharmaceuticals

Here are a few of the latest headlines about IONS:

• Negative Sentiment: Commercial concerns remain central: third-quarter TRYNGOLZA sales were $9.3 million, and Ionis cut its full-year sales outlook for the drug by roughly half. Disappointing Wainua royalties also weighed on investor sentiment after the earnings report. Article: Why Ionis stock is down following Q3 earnings
• Negative Sentiment: Several firms, including Morgan Stanley, Needham, HC Wainwright, Oppenheimer and Goldman Sachs, lowered price targets or expectations for IONS, reinforcing concerns about the outlook. Article: HC Wainwright cuts Ionis price target
• Negative Sentiment: Wolf Popper and Levi & Korsinsky announced investigations related to Ionis securities claims, with the latter citing the TRYNGOLZA outlook reduction. These are investigations, not findings of wrongdoing, but may add uncertainty for investors. Article: Wolf Popper announces Ionis investor investigation

Ionis Pharmaceuticals Company Profile

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.