Ionis Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:IONS) Shares Gap Up to $41.83

Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:IONS)’s stock price gapped up before the market opened on Monday . The stock had previously closed at $41.83, but opened at $43.75. Ionis Pharmaceuticals shares last traded at $42.46, with a volume of 620,164 shares trading hands.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have commented on IONS shares. Sanford C. Bernstein raised shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals from an “underperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and set a $44.00 price target for the company in a report on Friday, June 14th. Wolfe Research raised Ionis Pharmaceuticals from a “peer perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $58.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 10th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $85.00 to $82.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, May 8th. Oppenheimer lifted their price target on Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $72.00 to $75.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 9th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC restated a “buy” rating and issued a $60.00 price objective on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Monday, June 3rd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $58.43.

Ionis Pharmaceuticals Stock Up 3.0 %

The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $39.97 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $44.90. 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 (NASDAQ:IONS) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, May 7th. The company reported ($0.98) earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of ($1.10) by $0.12. The company had revenue of $119.00 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $131.42 million. Ionis Pharmaceuticals had a negative return on equity of 107.64% and a negative net margin of 49.49%. Ionis Pharmaceuticals’s revenue for the quarter was down 9.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted ($0.87) EPS. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. will post -3.95 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other Ionis Pharmaceuticals news, Director Joseph Klein III sold 6,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, May 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $42.71, for a total value of $256,260.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 16,346 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $698,137.66. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In related news, Director Joseph Klein III sold 6,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $42.71, for a total transaction of $256,260.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 16,346 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $698,137.66. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Joseph Baroldi sold 4,006 shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $41.60, for a total transaction of $166,649.60. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 19,631 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $816,649.60. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 2.71% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Ionis Pharmaceuticals

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of IONS. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale lifted its stake in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 2.4% in the first quarter. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale now owns 93,807 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,162,000 after buying an additional 2,193 shares in the last quarter. Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky raised its holdings in Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 70.6% in the 1st quarter. Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky now owns 24,083 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,044,000 after acquiring an additional 9,965 shares during the last quarter. Swedbank AB bought a new position in Ionis Pharmaceuticals in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $6,183,000. Zimmer Partners LP bought a new stake in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals in the 1st quarter worth $11,718,000. Finally, Tidal Investments LLC purchased a new position in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals in the first quarter worth $885,000. 93.86% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.