StockNews.com Downgrades Ionis Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:IONS) to Sell

Ionis Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:IONS) was downgraded by equities research analysts at StockNews.com from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note issued to investors on Tuesday.

Several other research firms have also recently weighed in on IONS. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $50.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, August 26th. Guggenheim dropped their target price on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $70.00 to $65.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, October 9th. Leerink Partners raised shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $53.00 to $62.00 in a report on Wednesday, July 24th. Bank of America increased their target price on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $67.00 to $68.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 23rd. Finally, Needham & Company LLC reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $60.00 target price on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals in a report on Thursday, November 7th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating, twelve have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $60.71.

Ionis Pharmaceuticals Trading Up 0.0 %

IONS opened at $37.78 on Tuesday. Ionis Pharmaceuticals has a twelve month low of $35.95 and a twelve month high of $54.44. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $40.09 and a 200 day simple moving average of $42.84. The company has a quick ratio of 8.82, a current ratio of 8.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.86. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.97 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -15.48 and a beta of 0.39.

Institutional Trading of Ionis Pharmaceuticals

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. MetLife Investment Management LLC grew its position in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 5.8% during the 3rd quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC now owns 9,363 shares of the company’s stock worth $375,000 after buying an additional 514 shares during the period. Quantbot Technologies LP acquired a new stake in Ionis Pharmaceuticals in the 3rd quarter valued at $51,000. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company grew its position in Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 12.4% in the 3rd quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 308,947 shares of the company’s stock valued at $12,376,000 after purchasing an additional 34,097 shares during the period. HealthInvest Partners AB grew its position in Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 103.2% in the 3rd quarter. HealthInvest Partners AB now owns 82,691 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,313,000 after purchasing an additional 42,000 shares during the period. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its position in Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 8.7% in the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,443,020 shares of the company’s stock valued at $57,807,000 after purchasing an additional 114,914 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.86% of the company’s stock.

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.