BMO Capital Markets Initiates Coverage on Ionis Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:IONS)

Investment analysts at BMO Capital Markets assumed coverage on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:IONS) in a research note issued to investors on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage set a “market perform” rating and a $60.00 price target on the stock. BMO Capital Markets’ price objective suggests a potential upside of 0.64% from the company’s previous close.

A number of other brokerages have also recently weighed in on IONS. Guggenheim dropped their price objective on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $106.00 to $89.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, July 21st. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $100.00 to $95.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, July 30th. Barclays dropped their price target on Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $115.00 to $90.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, July 10th. The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $69.00 price target on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals in a report on Wednesday, July 29th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada reduced 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. Seventeen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $94.15.

Ionis Pharmaceuticals Stock Up 1.7%

Ionis Pharmaceuticals stock opened at $59.62 on Wednesday. Ionis Pharmaceuticals has a fifty-two week low of $41.71 and a fifty-two week high of $86.74. The firm has a market capitalization of $9.91 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -17.23 and a beta of 0.41. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $65.02 and its two-hundred day moving average is $72.57. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.07, a quick ratio of 7.73 and a current ratio of 7.89.

Ionis Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:IONS) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 29th. The company reported ($0.69) EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($1.08) by $0.39. Ionis Pharmaceuticals had a negative net margin of 64.76% and a negative return on equity of 111.08%. The business had revenue of $267.95 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $189.10 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.70 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 40.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts predict that Ionis Pharmaceuticals will post -3.57 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Ionis Pharmaceuticals news, EVP Eugene Schneider sold 26,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, June 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $81.05, for a total value of $2,107,300.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 77,114 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,250,089.70. The trade was a 25.21% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CEO Brett P. Monia sold 50,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, June 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $80.59, for a total value of $4,029,500.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 245,571 shares in the company, valued at approximately $19,790,566.89. This represents a 16.92% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders sold a total of 233,163 shares of company stock worth $18,316,551 in the last three months. 1.81% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Ionis Pharmaceuticals

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. acquired a new stake in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals in the fourth quarter worth approximately $27,000. Cassaday & Co Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals in the 1st quarter valued at $30,000. Quarry LP purchased a new stake in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals during the 3rd quarter valued at $38,000. Allworth Financial LP purchased a new stake in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals during the 2nd quarter valued at $41,000. Finally, Silvant Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in Ionis Pharmaceuticals in the second quarter valued at $43,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.86% of the company’s stock.

Ionis Pharmaceuticals Company Profile

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.