Ionis Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:IONS) Upgraded to “Strong-Buy” at Canaccord Genuity Group

Canaccord Genuity Group upgraded shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:IONS) to a strong-buy rating in a research report sent to investors on Monday,Zacks.com reports.

Several other research analysts have also recently issued reports on the company. Royal Bank Of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Wednesday, February 25th. Piper Sandler increased their price objective on Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $87.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, February 27th. Leerink Partners increased their price objective on Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $102.00 to $104.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 3rd. Needham & Company LLC increased their price objective on Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $103.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 25th. Finally, Raymond James Financial initiated coverage on Ionis Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Friday, April 10th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $104.00 price objective on the stock. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seventeen have given a Buy rating, two have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $96.90.

Ionis Pharmaceuticals Trading Up 0.2%

IONS stock traded up $0.14 during midday trading on Monday, reaching $74.92. 220,722 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,164,119. Ionis Pharmaceuticals has a 52-week low of $28.79 and a 52-week high of $86.74. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.76, a quick ratio of 3.81 and a current ratio of 3.83. The business has a 50 day moving average of $76.46 and a 200-day moving average of $77.17. The firm has a market capitalization of $12.38 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -30.64 and a beta of 0.40.

Ionis Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:IONS) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 25th. The company reported ($1.41) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($1.23) by ($0.18). Ionis Pharmaceuticals had a negative net margin of 40.36% and a negative return on equity of 68.82%. The company had revenue of $203.33 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $156.07 million. During the same quarter last year, the company earned ($0.66) earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 10.6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Ionis Pharmaceuticals will post -4.03 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Ionis Pharmaceuticals

In other Ionis Pharmaceuticals news, Director B Lynne Parshall sold 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $76.27, for a total transaction of $381,350.00. Following the sale, the director owned 51,344 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,916,006.88. This trade represents a 8.87% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, EVP Brian Birchler sold 973 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, April 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $75.04, for a total value of $73,013.92. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 67,500 shares in the company, valued at $5,065,200. This trade represents a 1.42% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. In the last three months, insiders have sold 868,132 shares of company stock worth $67,343,911. 2.71% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Ionis Pharmaceuticals

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Capital World Investors lifted its holdings in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 41.2% during the 4th quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 17,961,299 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,420,918,000 after purchasing an additional 5,238,571 shares during the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 19,941.6% during the 4th quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 1,321,345 shares of the company’s stock valued at $104,532,000 after purchasing an additional 1,314,752 shares during the last quarter. Baker BROS. Advisors LP lifted its holdings in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 216.1% during the 4th quarter. Baker BROS. Advisors LP now owns 1,791,841 shares of the company’s stock valued at $141,753,000 after purchasing an additional 1,225,043 shares during the last quarter. Marshall Wace LLP lifted its holdings in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 7,219.3% during the 3rd quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 958,829 shares of the company’s stock valued at $62,727,000 after purchasing an additional 945,729 shares during the last quarter. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 190.3% during the 3rd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 1,372,225 shares of the company’s stock valued at $89,771,000 after purchasing an additional 899,476 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 93.86% of the company’s stock.

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.