Ionis Pharmaceuticals

IONS · NASDAQ

$45.40+$1.02 (+2.30%)TodayMarket closed · Oct 20, 7:30 PM ET

Prev close $44.38

IONS analyst rating

BuyConsensus of 22 analysts over the last 12 months. 82% rate it a buy.

Strong buy0
Buy18
Hold4
Underperform0
Sell0

12-month price target · 25 analysts

Average $86.07 (+89.6% upside)

Low: $54.54
Now: $45.40
High: $110.25

Upgrades and downgrades

The latest rating actions, newest first

IONS analyst upgrades, downgrades and rating actions
Firm	Date	Action	Rating	Price target	Hit rate
UBS	Oct 15, 2026	Upgrade	Neutral → Buy	$46.00 → $88.00	69%
HC Wainwright & Co.	Sep 24, 2026	Maintains	Buy	$100.00	32%
JP Morgan	Sep 22, 2026	Maintains	Overweight	$76.00 → $70.00	57%
Guggenheim	Sep 15, 2026	Maintains	Buy	$89.00 → $80.00	45%
Barclays	Sep 9, 2026	Maintains	Overweight	$90.00 → $85.00	45%
Morgan Stanley	Sep 8, 2026	Maintains	Overweight	$110.00 → $104.00	43%
Goldman Sachs	Sep 8, 2026	Maintains	Neutral	$69.00 → $56.00	47%
BMO Capital	Sep 8, 2026	Maintains	Market Perform	$61.00 → $54.00	55%
Canaccord Genuity	Sep 8, 2026	Maintains	Buy	$95.00 → $85.00	57%
HC Wainwright & Co.	Sep 8, 2026	Maintains	Buy	$115.00 → $100.00	32%

The case for and against

Updated Oct 14, 2026

Bull case

Ionis Pharmaceuticals is attractive because its antisense platform has already produced multiple marketed therapies, including Spinraza, Qalsody, Tegsedi, Waylivra, Wainua, Tryngolza, and Dawnzera, validating both its science and its ability to convert pipeline assets into commercial products. The latest Roche data for sefaxersen add another potential royalty stream, with a 459-patient Phase 3 win, a projected €1B-2B peak sales opportunity, and tiered royalties in the high teens to 20% of net sales, while the blinded study continues through Week 105. On top of that, Tryngolza appears underappreciated versus its $4B peak U.S. sales forecast, and physician polling shows expected use rising from a median 6% to 40% by year-end of 2027, underscoring meaningful commercial upside.

Bear case

Ionis Pharmaceuticals is viewed negatively because its valuation remains highly dependent on successful commercialization of a small set of launches, while the DCF already assumes a 9% discount rate and 1% terminal growth rate and still flags major execution risk. The current prescribing rate of Tryngolza in sHTG is only 6% of eligible patients, and the slow pace of insurance approval highlights payer friction, while DAWNZERA, WAINUA PN, and zilganersen also face launch-softness risk. Beyond commercialization, higher commercial or R&D spending could delay the 2028 cash-flow break-even target, and the stock remains exposed to development, regulatory, manufacturing, and partner-program disappointments.

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