Ionis Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:IONS) Receives “Outperform” Rating from William Blair

Ionis Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:IONS)‘s stock had its “outperform” rating reiterated by investment analysts at William Blair in a research report issued to clients and investors on Friday,RTT News reports.

Several other research analysts have also issued reports on the stock. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $60.00 target price on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Thursday, November 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $50.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, August 26th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $82.00 to $77.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, November 7th. StockNews.com lowered Ionis Pharmaceuticals from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 12th. Finally, Guggenheim dropped their price objective on Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $70.00 to $65.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, October 9th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating, twelve have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $60.65.

Ionis Pharmaceuticals Trading Down 1.8 %

Shares of IONS opened at $35.59 on Friday. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $37.48 and its 200-day simple moving average is $42.32. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.62 billion, a PE ratio of -14.59 and a beta of 0.35. Ionis Pharmaceuticals has a 12-month low of $33.33 and a 12-month high of $54.44. The company has a quick ratio of 8.82, a current ratio of 8.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.86.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Brett P. Monia sold 6,630 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $38.05, for a total value of $252,271.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 167,393 shares in the company, valued at $6,369,303.65. The trade was a 3.81 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Eric Swayze sold 1,194 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $37.92, for a total value of $45,276.48. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 33,713 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,278,396.96. The trade was a 3.42 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 7,877 shares of company stock worth $299,578. 2.71% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Ionis Pharmaceuticals

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its stake in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 83.9% in the 3rd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 664 shares of the company’s stock worth $27,000 after buying an additional 303 shares in the last quarter. nVerses Capital LLC bought a new stake in Ionis Pharmaceuticals during the second quarter worth approximately $29,000. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. purchased a new stake in Ionis Pharmaceuticals during the second quarter valued at approximately $37,000. Capital Performance Advisors LLP bought a new stake in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $40,000. Finally, Prospera Private Wealth LLC purchased a new position in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $42,000. 93.86% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Ionis Pharmaceuticals

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.