Guggenheim Starts Ionis Pharmaceuticals (IONS) at Buy

Guggenheim analyst Debjit Chattopadhyay initiates coverage on Ionis Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ: IONS) with a Buy rating and a price target of $64.00.

The analyst commented, "We are initiating coverage of IONS with a BUY rating. While the platform has had its fair share of setbacks, core to our thesis is the migration to higher potency gen-2+ LICA conjugated ASO’s with superior tolerability. With 20 clinical assets (7 wholly owned), the critical components to our BUY rating are: (1) Eplontersen- ATTR-PN and ATTR-CM - AZN partnership; Ph 3 readouts in 2022 and 2024, respectively; (2) Donidalorsen - HAE - wholly owned; Ph 3 readout in 2024; (3) Olezarsen - FCS and sHTG Ph 3 readouts in 2023 and 2024, respectively; and (4) Pelacarsen - Lp(a); NVS partnered; Ph 3 readout in 2025. The commonality across these four programs are: (A) the GalNAc conjugation; and (B) hepatic targeting, both well-established across ASOs and siRNAs, implying relatively high probability of success, in our view. Hence, we estimate downside risk of ~$6 from current levels, but successful execution could see the stock trading at our $64 PT, which is derived from a risk-adjusted DCF."

For an analyst ratings summary and ratings history on Ionis Pharmaceuticals click here. For more ratings news on Ionis Pharmaceuticals click here.

Shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals closed at $33.38 yesterday.

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