Ionis Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:IONS) Price Target Lowered to $125.00 at HC Wainwright

Ionis Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:IONS) had its price objective trimmed by HC Wainwright from $130.00 to $125.00 in a report published on Friday morning,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a buy rating on the stock. HC Wainwright also issued estimates for Ionis Pharmaceuticals’ Q3 2027 earnings at $0.04 EPS and Q4 2027 earnings at $0.21 EPS.

Several other equities analysts also recently weighed in on the stock. Citigroup dropped their target price on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $115.00 to $100.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday. Leerink Partners raised their price objective on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $122.00 to $129.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, June 25th. Bank of America lifted their price objective on Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $100.00 to $111.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 9th. Morgan Stanley reduced their target price on Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $130.00 to $110.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday. Finally, Raymond James Financial set a $87.00 target price on Ionis Pharmaceuticals in a report on Thursday. Eighteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $96.80.

Ionis Pharmaceuticals Price Performance

IONS traded down $6.02 during trading on Friday, reaching $58.25. 11,439,176 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,922,914. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $75.78 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $77.27. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.75, a current ratio of 4.10 and a quick ratio of 4.09. The company has a market capitalization of $9.63 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -28.14 and a beta of 0.36. Ionis Pharmaceuticals has a 1 year low of $40.03 and a 1 year high of $86.74.

Ionis Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:IONS) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The company reported ($0.56) earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.85) by $0.29. The business had revenue of $246.09 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $195.56 million. Ionis Pharmaceuticals had a negative return on equity of 58.65% and a negative net margin of 30.91%.The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 86.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted ($0.93) earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Ionis Pharmaceuticals will post -3.69 earnings per share for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Eugene Schneider sold 26,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $81.05, for a total transaction of $2,107,300.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 77,114 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,250,089.70. This represents a 25.21% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CEO Brett P. Monia sold 50,000 shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $80.59, for a total transaction of $4,029,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 245,571 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $19,790,566.89. The trade was a 16.92% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 244,038 shares of company stock valued at $19,139,399. 1.81% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Ionis Pharmaceuticals

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. acquired a new stake in Ionis Pharmaceuticals in the 4th quarter worth about $27,000. Cassaday & Co Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals during the 1st quarter valued at about $30,000. Quarry LP purchased a new position in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals during the 3rd quarter worth about $38,000. Hilton Head Capital Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals in the fourth quarter worth approximately $47,000. Finally, Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals in the fourth quarter worth approximately $47,000. 93.86% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Trending Headlines about Ionis Pharmaceuticals

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

• Negative Sentiment: Ionis and AstraZeneca disclosed that the Phase 3 CARDIO-TTRansform trial for eplontersen in ATTR-CM failed to hit its main efficacy goal, a major setback for a key partnered drug. Article Title
• Negative Sentiment: Reuters reported that the AstraZeneca-Ionis heart drug also missed its main goal of reducing cardiovascular deaths and recurrent heart problems, reinforcing investor concerns about the program. Article Title
• Negative Sentiment: Several insiders, including an executive vice president and a director, disclosed stock sales under pre-arranged 10b5-1 plans, adding to near-term caution.
• Negative Sentiment: Traders bought an unusually large number of put options, suggesting some market participants are positioning for further downside.
• Neutral Sentiment: Multiple analysts cut price targets on IONS, but most kept Buy/Overweight ratings, indicating valuation confidence even after the setback. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: HC Wainwright, Morgan Stanley, Canaccord Genuity, and Needham all lowered targets, with Needham trimming its target to $86 from $105 while maintaining a Buy rating. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: Ionis updated FY2026 revenue guidance to $875 million-$900 million, roughly in line with expectations, which does little to offset the clinical disappointment.

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.