Ionis Pharmaceuticals (IONS) Moves 9.1% Higher: Will This Strength Last?

Ionis Pharmaceuticals (IONS) shares ended the last trading session 9.1% higher at $43.59. The jump came on an impressive volume with a higher-than-average number of shares changing hands in the session. This compares to the stock's 14.9% gain over the past four weeks.

The sudden price rise can be attributed to growing investors' optimism regarding the company’s portfolio of marketed drugs and its expanding pipeline in neurology, cardiology, and areas of high medical need. Last week, Ionis stated that its partner Biogen reported positive top-line data from the phase I study of salanersen (ION306/BIIB115), an investigational antisense oligonucleotide, which is being developed for the potential treatment of spinal muscular atrophy.

This drug discovery and development company is expected to post quarterly earnings of $0.19 per share in its upcoming report, which represents a year-over-year change of +142.2%. Revenues are expected to be $246.31 million, up 9.5% from the year-ago quarter.

Earnings and revenue growth expectations certainly give a good sense of the potential strength in a stock, but empirical research shows that trends in earnings estimate revisions are strongly correlated with near-term stock price movements.

For Ionis Pharmaceuticals, the consensus EPS estimate for the quarter has been revised 5.5% lower over the last 30 days to the current level. And a negative trend in earnings estimate revisions doesn't usually translate into price appreciation. So, make sure to keep an eye on IONS going forward to see if this recent jump can turn into more strength down the road.

The stock currently carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). You can see the complete list of today's Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy) stocks here >>>>

Ionis Pharmaceuticals is a member of the Zacks Medical - Drugs industry. One other stock in the same industry, Crinetics Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (CRNX), finished the last trading session 3.6% higher at $29.44. CRNX has returned -11.4% over the past month.

CRINETICS PHARM's consensus EPS estimate for the upcoming report has remained unchanged over the past month at -$1.13. Compared to the company's year-ago EPS, this represents a change of -20.2%. CRINETICS PHARM currently boasts a Zacks Rank of #3 (Hold).

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This article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).

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