HC Wainwright Lowers Ionis Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:IONS) Price Target to $115.00

Ionis Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:IONS) had its price target cut by research analysts at HC Wainwright from $125.00 to $115.00 in a research report issued to clients and investors on Thursday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a “buy” rating on the stock. HC Wainwright’s target price would indicate a potential upside of 112.81% from the company’s current price.

IONS has been the subject of a number of other reports. Barclays decreased their price objective on Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $115.00 to $90.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, July 10th. Canaccord Genuity Group reduced their target price on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $110.00 to $95.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, July 10th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, May 2nd. TD Cowen restated a “buy” rating and issued a $108.00 price target on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals in a report on Monday, June 15th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $69.00 price objective on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Wednesday. Eighteen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $95.10.

Ionis Pharmaceuticals Stock Down 2.3%

Ionis Pharmaceuticals stock opened at $54.04 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 4.09, a current ratio of 4.10 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.75. The firm has a market cap of $8.93 billion, a P/E ratio of -26.11 and a beta of 0.36. The business has a fifty day moving average of $70.48 and a two-hundred day moving average of $74.92. Ionis Pharmaceuticals has a twelve month low of $40.03 and a twelve month 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 (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.85) by $0.29. The business had revenue of $246.09 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate 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 was up 86.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business posted ($0.93) EPS. On average, analysts forecast that Ionis Pharmaceuticals will post -3.71 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Ionis Pharmaceuticals

In other Ionis Pharmaceuticals news, CEO Brett P. Monia sold 50,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $80.59, for a total transaction of $4,029,500.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 245,571 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $19,790,566.89. The trade was a 16.92% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, EVP C Frank Bennett sold 15,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $85.46, for a total transaction of $1,281,900.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 75,018 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,411,038.28. This represents a 16.66% decrease in their position. 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. Insiders sold a total of 233,163 shares of company stock worth $18,316,551 over the last ninety days. 1.81% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in IONS. Capital World Investors grew its holdings in Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 41.2% during the fourth quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 17,961,299 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,420,918,000 after acquiring an additional 5,238,571 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its stake 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 worth $104,532,000 after acquiring an additional 1,314,752 shares in the last quarter. Baker BROS. Advisors LP increased its stake in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 216.1% in 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 in the last quarter. Marshall Wace LLP grew its holdings in Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 7,219.3% in the third 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 period. Finally, Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership purchased a new position in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $41,223,000. 93.86% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Key Ionis Pharmaceuticals News

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

• Positive Sentiment: Q2 results exceeded expectations. Ionis reported a quarterly loss that was narrower than analysts expected—approximately $0.43 to $0.70 per share, depending on the reporting basis—and revenue of about $268 million, well above consensus estimates near $189 million. However, revenue declined year over year, underscoring the company’s ongoing dependence on pipeline execution and partnered products. Ionis Pharmaceuticals Q2 earnings report
• Positive Sentiment: Olezarsen development is expanding. Ionis announced a Phase 3 study evaluating olezarsen in children with familial chylomicronemia syndrome, potentially broadening the drug’s addressable rare-disease population. Additional clinical progress could support the long-term value of Ionis’ commercial and late-stage pipeline. Ionis expands pediatric FCS trial for olezarsen
• Neutral Sentiment: Leadership transition announced. Chief Scientific Officer Dr. Frank Bennett plans to retire. The change may raise questions about continuity, although Ionis’ earnings materials and call emphasized progress across key programs. Ionis announces Dr. Frank Bennett retirement
• Negative Sentiment: Investors remain focused on the major trial setback. A late-stage heart-disease therapy developed with AstraZeneca failed to meet its target, triggering a sharp prior selloff and reducing confidence in Ionis’ clinical pipeline. Ionis trial failure investor scrutiny
• Negative Sentiment: Shareholder investigations add risk. Pomerantz and Hagens Berman announced investigations into whether Ionis adequately disclosed information related to the failed trial. These notices do not establish wrongdoing, but they add headline, litigation and reputational risk. Pomerantz investor investigation

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.