Ionis Pharmaceuticals’ (IONS) Buy Rating Reiterated at Needham & Company LLC

Needham & Company LLC reissued their buy rating on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:IONS) in a research report released on Friday,Benzinga reports. Needham & Company LLC currently has a $60.00 price target on the stock.

Other research analysts have also recently issued reports about the stock. StockNews.com cut shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 12th. Guggenheim decreased their price objective on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $70.00 to $65.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, October 9th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $82.00 to $77.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, November 7th. Piper Sandler lowered their price objective on Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $65.00 to $62.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, November 14th. Finally, William Blair reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Friday. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating, twelve have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $60.65.

Ionis Pharmaceuticals Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:IONS opened at $35.63 on Friday. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $37.38 and its 200 day simple moving average is $42.27. The company has a market cap of $5.63 billion, a P/E ratio of -14.60 and a beta of 0.35. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.86, a quick ratio of 8.82 and a current ratio of 8.91. Ionis Pharmaceuticals has a one year low of $33.33 and a one year high of $54.44.

Insider Transactions at Ionis Pharmaceuticals

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

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Ionis Pharmaceuticals

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in IONS. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its position in Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 83.9% during the 3rd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 664 shares of the company’s stock worth $27,000 after acquiring an additional 303 shares during the period. nVerses Capital LLC bought a new stake in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals during the second quarter valued at about $29,000. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. bought a new stake in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals during the second quarter valued at about $37,000. Capital Performance Advisors LLP acquired a new stake in Ionis Pharmaceuticals in the third quarter worth about $40,000. Finally, Prospera Private Wealth LLC bought a new position in Ionis Pharmaceuticals in the 3rd quarter valued at about $42,000. 93.86% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.