Ionis Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:IONS) Receives Buy Rating from HC Wainwright

Ionis Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:IONS)‘s stock had its “buy” rating reissued by investment analysts at HC Wainwright in a report issued on Thursday, MarketBeat.com reports. They presently have a $100.00 price target on the stock. HC Wainwright’s price objective indicates a potential upside of 126.50% from the company’s previous close.

A number of other research analysts have also commented on the company. Oppenheimer reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $85.00 price objective on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Thursday. Citigroup decreased their price objective on Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $115.00 to $100.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, July 10th. Royal Bank Of Canada decreased their price objective on Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $100.00 to $85.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, July 13th. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $86.00 price objective on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Friday, September 4th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group cut their price target on Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $113.00 to $90.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, July 9th. Seventeen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $89.20.

Ionis Pharmaceuticals Trading Up 0.5%

IONS traded up $0.22 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $44.15. The stock had a trading volume of 1,230,771 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,593,605. The stock has a market capitalization of $7.34 billion, a P/E ratio of -12.74 and a beta of 0.42. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.07, a quick ratio of 7.73 and a current ratio of 7.89. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $55.33 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $67.61. Ionis Pharmaceuticals has a 52 week low of $43.01 and a 52 week high of $86.74.

Insider Activity at Ionis Pharmaceuticals

In other news, EVP C. Bennett sold 15,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $85.46, for a total transaction of $1,281,900.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 75,018 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,411,038.28. The trade was a 16.66% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, Director Allene Diaz sold 10,111 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $85.42, for a total value of $863,681.62. Following the transaction, the director owned 3,811 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $325,535.62. The trade was a 72.63% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. In the last three months, insiders sold 110,078 shares of company stock worth $9,021,117. 1.81% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Ionis Pharmaceuticals

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Cassaday & Co Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Ionis Pharmaceuticals during the 1st quarter worth $30,000. Allworth Financial LP acquired a new stake in Ionis Pharmaceuticals during the 2nd quarter worth $41,000. Silvant Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in Ionis Pharmaceuticals during the 2nd quarter worth $43,000. Hilton Head Capital Partners LLC acquired a new stake in Ionis Pharmaceuticals during the 4th quarter worth $47,000. Finally, Archer Investment Corp acquired a new stake in Ionis Pharmaceuticals during the 2nd quarter worth $48,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.86% of the company’s stock.

About Ionis Pharmaceuticals

Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc is a biotechnology company that discovers and develops medicines using antisense technology, which is designed to target RNA and influence the production of disease-related proteins. The company focuses on neurological, cardiovascular, metabolic and other serious diseases for which there remains a significant unmet medical need.

Ionis has developed several approved therapies, including SPINRAZA (nusinersen) for spinal muscular atrophy, QALSODY (tofersen) for a form of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, TEGSEDI (inotersen) for hereditary transthyretin-mediated amyloidosis and WAYLIVRA (volanesorsen) for familial chylomicronemia syndrome in certain markets.