Leerink Partnrs Has Negative Outlook of IONS FY2024 Earnings

Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:IONS) – Analysts at Leerink Partnrs dropped their FY2024 earnings estimates for Ionis Pharmaceuticals in a report issued on Tuesday, January 21st. Leerink Partnrs analyst M. Foroohar now expects that the company will post earnings of ($3.53) per share for the year, down from their previous forecast of ($3.51). The consensus estimate for Ionis Pharmaceuticals’ current full-year earnings is ($3.47) per share. Leerink Partnrs also issued estimates for Ionis Pharmaceuticals’ Q4 2024 earnings at ($1.12) EPS, FY2025 earnings at ($2.34) EPS, FY2027 earnings at ($0.85) EPS, FY2028 earnings at $0.51 EPS and FY2029 earnings at $2.30 EPS.

A number of other equities research analysts have also weighed in on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $70.00 target price on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals in a report on Wednesday, January 15th. StockNews.com lowered shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 12th. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $60.00 price objective on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Friday, December 20th. Guggenheim reduced 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. Finally, Piper Sandler reduced their price objective on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $65.00 to $62.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, November 14th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating, twelve have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $60.65.

Ionis Pharmaceuticals Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ IONS opened at $34.75 on Thursday. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $35.23 and its 200-day moving average price is $40.72. Ionis Pharmaceuticals has a 1-year low of $31.40 and a 1-year high of $52.49. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.49 billion, a P/E ratio of -14.24 and a beta of 0.35. The company has a current ratio of 8.91, a quick ratio of 8.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.86.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CFO Elizabeth L. Hougen sold 8,870 shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $32.81, for a total transaction of $291,024.70. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 107,885 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,539,706.85. This trade represents a 7.60 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Brett P. Monia sold 6,630 shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $38.05, for a total transaction of $252,271.50. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly 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 ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 57,293 shares of company stock valued at $1,914,820 in the last quarter. Insiders own 2.71% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of IONS. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 3.5% during the second quarter. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC now owns 7,624 shares of the company’s stock valued at $363,000 after purchasing an additional 261 shares during the last quarter. Nicollet Investment Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 1.5% in the third quarter. Nicollet Investment Management Inc. now owns 20,402 shares of the company’s stock worth $817,000 after purchasing an additional 294 shares during the period. Amalgamated Bank boosted its position in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 3.1% during the third quarter. Amalgamated Bank now owns 9,957 shares of the company’s stock worth $399,000 after acquiring an additional 300 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its stake in Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 83.9% during the third quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 664 shares of the company’s stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 303 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. raised its stake in Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 40.9% during the third quarter. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. now owns 1,081 shares of the company’s stock valued at $43,000 after purchasing an additional 314 shares in the last quarter. 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.