Shareholders in Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:IONS) may be thrilled to learn that the analysts have just delivered a major upgrade to their near-term forecasts. The revenue forecast for this year has experienced a facelift, with the analysts now much more optimistic on its sales pipeline.

Following the latest upgrade, the 22 analysts covering Ionis Pharmaceuticals provided consensus estimates of US$893m revenue in 2026, which would reflect an uneasy 16% decline on its sales over the past 12 months. Prior to the latest estimates, the analysts were forecasting revenues of US$811m in 2026. It looks like there's been a clear increase in optimism around Ionis Pharmaceuticals, given the solid increase in revenue forecasts.

Another way we can view these estimates is in the context of the bigger picture, such as how the forecasts stack up against past performance, and whether forecasts are more or less bullish relative to other companies in the industry. These estimates imply that sales are expected to slow, with a forecast annualised revenue decline of 20% by the end of 2026. This indicates a significant reduction from annual growth of 5.8% over the last five years. By contrast, our data suggests that other companies (with analyst coverage) in the same industry are forecast to see their revenue grow 22% annually for the foreseeable future. It's pretty clear that Ionis Pharmaceuticals' revenues are expected to perform substantially worse than the wider industry.

The Bottom Line

The highlight for us was that analysts increased their revenue forecasts for Ionis Pharmaceuticals this year. They're also anticipating slower revenue growth than the wider market. Given that analysts appear to be expecting substantial improvement in the sales pipeline, now could be the right time to take another look at Ionis Pharmaceuticals.

Better yet, Ionis Pharmaceuticals is expected to break-even soon - within the next few years - according to analyst forecasts, which would be a momentous event for shareholders. For more information, you can click through to our free platform to learn more about these forecasts.

Of course, seeing company management invest large sums of money in a stock can be just as useful as knowing whether analysts are upgrading their estimates. So you may also wish to search this free list of stocks with high insider ownership.

This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. We provide commentary based on historical data and analyst forecasts only using an unbiased methodology and our articles are not intended to be financial advice. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. We aim to bring you long-term focused analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material. Simply Wall St has no position in any stocks mentioned.