Ionis Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:IONS) Downgraded to “Sell” Rating by Wall Street Zen

Wall Street Zen cut shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:IONS) from a hold rating to a sell rating in a report published on Saturday morning.

IONS has been the subject of a number of other research reports. TD Cowen reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Wednesday, December 3rd. Morgan Stanley set a $95.00 price target on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday. Barclays assumed coverage on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals in a report on Wednesday, January 28th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $95.00 price objective on the stock. HC Wainwright boosted their target price on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $100.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, November 10th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price objective on Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $73.00 to $77.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have issued a Buy rating, three have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $88.80.

Ionis Pharmaceuticals Stock Performance

IONS opened at $81.15 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $13.14 billion, a PE ratio of -33.26 and a beta of 0.29. Ionis Pharmaceuticals has a 12-month low of $23.95 and a 12-month high of $86.74. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $81.33 and a two-hundred day moving average of $72.12. The company has a current ratio of 2.79, a quick ratio of 2.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.96.

Ionis Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:IONS) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 25th. The company reported ($1.41) earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($1.23) by ($0.18). The company had revenue of $203.00 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $156.07 million. Ionis Pharmaceuticals had a negative return on equity of 66.25% and a negative net margin of 40.36%.Ionis Pharmaceuticals’s revenue for the quarter was down 10.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted ($0.66) earnings per share. On average, analysts anticipate that Ionis Pharmaceuticals will post -3.5 EPS for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO Brett P. Monia sold 29,430 shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $85.79, for a total value of $2,524,799.70. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 254,497 shares in the company, valued at approximately $21,833,297.63. This trade represents a 10.37% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Eric Swayze sold 15,642 shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $81.76, for a total value of $1,278,889.92. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 32,105 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,624,904.80. This represents a 32.76% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 464,579 shares of company stock worth $37,630,193. Insiders own 2.60% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Ionis Pharmaceuticals

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Axxcess Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Ionis Pharmaceuticals in the fourth quarter valued at $228,000. Corient Private Wealth LLC increased its holdings in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 3,161.5% in the fourth quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC now owns 214,936 shares of the company’s stock valued at $17,004,000 after purchasing an additional 208,346 shares during the period. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV lifted its holdings in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 48.2% during the fourth quarter. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV now owns 5,554 shares of the company’s stock worth $439,000 after purchasing an additional 1,807 shares during the period. Mackenzie Financial Corp increased its stake in Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 8.4% in the 4th quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 3,891 shares of the company’s stock valued at $307,000 after buying an additional 303 shares during the period. Finally, ADAR1 Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 9.9% in the 4th quarter. ADAR1 Capital Management LLC now owns 147,130 shares of the company’s stock worth $11,639,000 after acquiring an additional 13,312 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.86% of the company’s stock.

Ionis Pharmaceuticals News Roundup

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

• Positive Sentiment: Piper Sandler raised its price target to $100 and moved to an “overweight” rating, signaling ~23% upside from current levels — a clear buy-side endorsement. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Needham lifted its price target to $103 from $90, another analyst upgrade supporting the rally and reflecting greater confidence in revenue trajectory. Needham Lifts PT on Ionis Pharmaceuticals (IONS) to $103 From $90
• Positive Sentiment: Updates to Tryngolza outlook are materially positive: recent analysis lifts peak revenue estimates (several sources cite >$2B for Tryngolza and company-level peak revenue/royalty/milestone potential in the multi?billion range), and management guides to cash-flow breakeven by 2028 — bullish for long-term value. Ionis Pharmaceuticals: Digesting Recent Events
• Neutral Sentiment: Company presented at Oppenheimer’s healthcare conference; slides/transcript provide additional visibility into pipeline progress and commercialization strategy but are informational rather than catalytic. IONS Presents at Oppenheimer Conference Transcript
• Neutral Sentiment: General earnings call coverage/recaps are available for detail on management commentary and guidance; useful for modeling but not single-handedly market-moving. Q4 2025 Earnings Call Summary
• Negative Sentiment: Q4 results were mixed: revenue and Tryngolza sales beat expectations, but EPS missed estimates and management gave a softer 2026 outlook, which pressured the stock in after-hours/early trade. Ionis Q4 Earnings & Sales Beat, Stock Down on Soft 2026 Outlook
• Negative Sentiment: Coverage noted the EPS miss led to a gap-down reaction in some sessions; near-term uptake for new drugs and the FY2026 revenue cadence remain the main risk factors to watch. Shares Gap Down on Disappointing Earnings
• Negative Sentiment: Stifel raised its target modestly to $77 but kept a “hold” rating — the lower relative PT signals at least one shop sees limited near-term upside. Article Title

About Ionis Pharmaceuticals

Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc is a biotechnology company focused on the discovery and development of RNA-targeted therapies designed to modulate gene expression. The company’s proprietary antisense oligonucleotide (ASO) technology enables the selective binding of short synthetic strands of nucleic acids to messenger RNA (mRNA), thereby inhibiting or altering the production of disease-causing proteins. Ionis’ pipeline spans a range of therapeutic areas, including neurological disorders, cardiovascular conditions, metabolic diseases and rare genetic disorders.

Since its founding in 1989 by Dr.