Key Points
- Insider sale: Ionis Pharmaceuticals director Spencer Berthelsen sold 8,000 shares on June 1 at an average price of $75.67, totaling about $605,360. After the sale, he still owned 156,013 shares.
- Better-than-expected earnings: The company reported Q1 EPS of -$0.56, beating estimates of -$0.85, and revenue of $246.09 million versus expectations of $195.57 million. Revenue also rose 86.4% from the same quarter a year earlier.
- Wall Street remains positive: Analysts mostly maintain bullish views on Ionis, with a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average target price of $100.90. Several firms recently reiterated or raised price targets, including HC Wainwright at $125 and Morgan Stanley at $130.
Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:IONS - Get Free Report) Director Spencer Berthelsen sold 8,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $75.67, for a total transaction of $605,360.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 156,013 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $11,805,503.71. This represents a 4.88% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan.
Ionis Pharmaceuticals Stock Performance
NASDAQ IONS opened at $73.82 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 4.10, a quick ratio of 4.09 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.75. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $74.81 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $77.78. Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. has a 1 year low of $34.72 and a 1 year high of $86.74. The firm has a market capitalization of $12.20 billion, a P/E ratio of -35.66 and a beta of 0.37.
Ionis Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:IONS - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The company reported ($0.56) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.85) by $0.29. Ionis Pharmaceuticals had a negative net margin of 30.91% and a negative return on equity of 58.65%. The firm had revenue of $246.09 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $195.57 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted ($0.93) earnings per share. The company's quarterly revenue was up 86.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. will post -3.78 EPS for the current year.
Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades
IONS has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. HC Wainwright reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $125.00 price target on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Wednesday, May 27th. Raymond James Financial initiated coverage on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Friday, April 10th. They set an "outperform" rating and a $104.00 price objective on the stock. Bank of America increased their price objective on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $100.00 to $111.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 9th. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $95.00 to $130.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 21st. Finally, TD Cowen reduced their price objective on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $110.00 to $108.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 23rd. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have issued 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 $100.90.
View Our Latest Stock Analysis on IONS
Institutional Investors Weigh In On Ionis Pharmaceuticals
A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Grandfield & Dodd LLC boosted its stake in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 0.4% in the 4th quarter. Grandfield & Dodd LLC now owns 37,821 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,992,000 after purchasing an additional 146 shares in the last quarter. Checchi Capital Advisers LLC boosted its stake in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 3.7% in the 1st quarter. Checchi Capital Advisers LLC now owns 4,429 shares of the company's stock valued at $333,000 after purchasing an additional 157 shares in the last quarter. Wedmont Private Capital raised its holdings in Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 3.2% in the 4th quarter. Wedmont Private Capital now owns 5,536 shares of the company's stock valued at $460,000 after buying an additional 173 shares during the last quarter. Prospera Financial Services Inc raised its holdings in Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 3.9% in the 4th quarter. Prospera Financial Services Inc now owns 4,759 shares of the company's stock valued at $376,000 after buying an additional 178 shares during the last quarter. Finally, MetLife Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 2.6% in the 4th quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC now owns 9,674 shares of the company's stock valued at $765,000 after buying an additional 246 shares during the last quarter. 93.86% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.
Ionis Pharmaceuticals Company Profile
(
Get Free Report)
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.
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