Ionis Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:IONS) Downgraded to Market Perform at BMO Capital Markets

BMO Capital Markets downgraded shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:IONS) from an outperform rating to a market perform rating in a report issued on Friday, MarketBeat.com reports. BMO Capital Markets currently has $60.00 price target on the stock, down from their prior price target of $67.00.

Several other research analysts have also issued reports on IONS. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $85.00 to $82.00 and set an overweight rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, May 8th. Jefferies Financial Group began coverage on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Tuesday, July 16th. They set a buy rating and a $75.00 target price on the stock. William Blair restated an outperform rating on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Tuesday, April 9th. Bank of America boosted their price target on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $67.00 to $68.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 23rd. Finally, Leerink Partnrs upgraded shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals from a hold rating to a strong-buy rating in a report on Wednesday, July 24th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating, twelve have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus target price of $60.68.

Ionis Pharmaceuticals Stock Performance

Shares of IONS traded up $0.01 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $47.01. The stock had a trading volume of 885,557 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,219,084. The firm has a market cap of $6.86 billion, a P/E ratio of -17.71 and a beta of 0.40. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $44.94 and a 200-day moving average price of $44.31. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.15, a current ratio of 7.37 and a quick ratio of 7.28. Ionis Pharmaceuticals has a 52 week low of $35.95 and a 52 week high of $54.44.

Ionis Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:IONS) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The company reported ($0.45) EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.92) by $0.47. Ionis Pharmaceuticals had a negative return on equity of 109.65% and a negative net margin of 44.90%. The business had revenue of $225.00 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $152.35 million. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.60 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 19.7% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts expect that Ionis Pharmaceuticals will post -3.9 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Joseph Klein III sold 12,000 shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $50.00, for a total value of $600,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 16,346 shares in the company, valued at $817,300. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Insiders own 2.71% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Ionis Pharmaceuticals

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. raised its position in Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 2.5% in the fourth quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 8,378 shares of the company’s stock worth $424,000 after acquiring an additional 202 shares in the last quarter. Mather Group LLC. grew its stake in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 35.8% in the 2nd quarter. Mather Group LLC. now owns 911 shares of the company’s stock valued at $39,000 after buying an additional 240 shares in the last quarter. Grandfield & Dodd LLC boosted its position in Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 0.7% during the fourth quarter. Grandfield & Dodd LLC now owns 33,104 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,675,000 after purchasing an additional 242 shares during the period. Fifth Third Bancorp boosted its position in Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 3.8% during the first quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 9,633 shares of the company’s stock worth $418,000 after purchasing an additional 351 shares during the period. Finally, M&T Bank Corp lifted its holdings in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 7.8% during the fourth quarter. M&T Bank Corp now owns 5,188 shares of the company’s stock worth $263,000 after buying an additional 376 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.86% of the company’s stock.

Ionis Pharmaceuticals Company Profile

Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc discovers and develops RNA-targeted therapeutics in the United States. The company offers SPINRAZA for spinal muscular atrophy (SMA) in pediatric and adult patients; TEGSEDI, an antisense injection for the treatment of polyneuropathy caused by hereditary transthyretin amyloidosis in adults; and WAYLIVRA, an antisense medicine for treatment for familial chylomicronemia syndrome (FCS) and familial partial lipodystrophy.