Ionis Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:IONS) Reaches New 1-Year High – What’s Next?

Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:IONS) shares reached a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Thursday . The company traded as high as $76.39 and last traded at $76.1280, with a volume of 316970 shares. The stock had previously closed at $74.68.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on the company. Guggenheim lifted their target price on Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $90.00 to $92.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 23rd. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $90.00 to $94.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 30th. Stifel Nicolaus upped their target price on Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $43.00 to $67.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, October 6th. TD Cowen raised their price target on Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $59.00 to $99.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, October 30th. Finally, HC Wainwright lifted their price objective on Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $95.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, October 30th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seventeen have assigned a Buy rating, three have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $83.65.

Ionis Pharmaceuticals Stock Performance

The company has a quick ratio of 2.86, a current ratio of 2.87 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.99. The stock has a market cap of $12.18 billion, a PE ratio of -44.55 and a beta of 0.33. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $65.86 and a 200 day moving average of $47.61.

Ionis Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:IONS) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 29th. The company reported ($0.80) earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of ($1.15) by $0.35. Ionis Pharmaceuticals had a negative return on equity of 45.29% and a negative net margin of 26.45%.The business had revenue of $157.00 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $131.75 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted ($0.95) earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 17.2% on a year-over-year basis. Ionis Pharmaceuticals has set its FY 2025 guidance at EPS. Equities analysts predict that Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. will post -3.5 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Joseph H. Wender sold 11,200 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, October 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $75.16, for a total value of $841,792.00. Following the sale, the director owned 64,035 shares in the company, valued at $4,812,870.60. This represents a 14.89% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Richard S. Geary sold 1,680 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, November 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $75.05, for a total value of $126,084.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 59,657 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,477,257.85. This trade represents a 2.74% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last three months, insiders sold 882,150 shares of company stock worth $56,284,410. Corporate insiders own 2.71% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Stratos Wealth Partners LTD. purchased a new position in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals during the 3rd quarter worth $508,000. Baader Bank Aktiengesellschaft purchased a new position in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals during the 3rd quarter worth $668,000. Prospera Financial Services Inc purchased a new position in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals during the 3rd quarter worth $300,000. Prime Capital Investment Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals during the 3rd quarter worth $257,000. Finally, IQ EQ FUND MANAGEMENT IRELAND Ltd lifted its stake in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 15.2% during the 3rd quarter. IQ EQ FUND MANAGEMENT IRELAND Ltd now owns 15,284 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,000,000 after purchasing an additional 2,021 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.86% of the company’s stock.

About Ionis Pharmaceuticals

Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc discovers and develops RNA-targeted therapeutics in the United States. The company offers SPINRAZA for spinal muscular atrophy (SMA) in pediatric and adult patients; TEGSEDI, an antisense injection for the treatment of polyneuropathy caused by hereditary transthyretin amyloidosis in adults; and WAYLIVRA, an antisense medicine for treatment for familial chylomicronemia syndrome (FCS) and familial partial lipodystrophy.