Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. IONS

Competitive advantage analysis · healthcare

Corporate Default
Overall moat score
64/100
Moderate

Ranked against 712 peers in Biotechnology

About Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc.

Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc., a commercial-stage biotechnology company, provides RNA-targeted medicines in the United States. The company offers TRYNGOLZA reduces triglyceride levels in adults with familial chylomicronemia syndrome (FCS) and acute pancreatitis; WAINUA for the treatment of the polyneuropathy of hereditary transthyretin-medicated amyloidosis (ATTRv-PN) in adults; and SPINRAZA for pediatric and adult patients with spinal muscular atrophy (SMA). It also provides … Full IONS analysis →

Key strengths

  • Revenue Growth Consistent Revenue growth volatility is low (stability score 0.86), suggesting sticky customer base.
  • Cash Generation Consistent Cash generation is consistent (score 0.79), indicating reliable business model.

The dashed ring is the peer median. Defense scores are percentile ranks against peers, so 50 is roughly the typical company in this group.

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Pricing Power

Moderate
58
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Signals, strengths and risks for Pricing Power

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Signals, strengths and risks for Cost Advantage

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Signals, strengths and risks for Customer Stickiness

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Signals, strengths and risks for Capital Efficiency

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Signals, strengths and risks for Resilience

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Signals, strengths and risks for Scale & Market Position

Where IONS ranks in Biotechnology

Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. ranks #67 of 713 scored companies in Biotechnology by moat score — the top 9%. The widest moat in the group is Royalty Pharma plc (RPRX) at 85/100.

# Company Moat score Rating
63 Jazz Pharmaceuticals plc JAZZ 65/100 Moderate
64 Nanobiotix S.A. NBTX 65/100 Moderate
65 Immunocore Holdings plc IMCR 65/100 Moderate
66 Equillium, Inc. EQ 64/100 Moderate
67 Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. IONS 64/100 Moderate
68 Adaptive Biotechnologies Corpor ADPT 64/100 Moderate
69 Spero Therapeutics, Inc. SPRO 64/100 Moderate
70 Xenetic Biosciences, Inc. XBIO 64/100 Moderate
71 Nuvalent, Inc. NUVL 63/100 Moderate

See every Biotech / Pre-Revenue company ranked by moat score →

How IONS scores on the Corporate Default defenses

Pricing Power

Score 58 · 20% of the moat score

Pricing power is the ability to raise prices without losing volume.

Cost Advantage

Score 81 · 15% of the moat score

A cost advantage means delivering the same product for structurally less — better purchasing, denser distribution, a more automated process.

Customer Stickiness

Score 82 · 15% of the moat score

Stickiness is what makes revenue repeat without being re-won every year.

Capital Efficiency

Score 40 · 18% of the moat score

Capital efficiency asks what the company earns on the money tied up in the business.

Resilience

Score 70 · 17% of the moat score

Resilience is the capacity to get through a bad year on its own terms — enough liquidity, enough interest cover, and enough cash generation to avoid a rescue financing or a forced sale.

Scale & Market Position

Score 60 · 15% of the moat score

Scale matters only when it converts into economics.

How each Corporate Default defense is measured, in full →

Understanding IONS's moat

What is Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc.'s moat score?

Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (IONS) scores 64 out of 100 on the StatsAlpha Moat Map, which rates its competitive advantage as moderate. It ranks #67 of 713 scored companies in Biotechnology, the top 9%. The score is a weighted composite of 6 competitive defenses, each measured against industry peers of 712 companies in Biotechnology. Its strongest defense is Customer Stickiness (82/100) and its weakest is Capital Efficiency (40/100).

How does Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. compare with other Biotechnology companies?

Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. ranks #67 of 713 scored companies in Biotechnology by moat score. The widest moat in Biotechnology is Royalty Pharma plc (RPRX) at 85/100. The companies ranked closest are Equillium, Inc. (EQ) at 64 just above it and Adaptive Biotechnologies Corpor (ADPT) at 64 just below it.

How is the moat score calculated?

Each company is scored with an industry-specific template — Corporate Default in this case, chosen because the defenses that matter to a bank are not the ones that matter to a software company. Every defense combines several financial signals, and each signal is measured as a percentile against a peer group of 712 companies in Biotechnology. The defenses are then weighted to produce the overall score out of 100.

Why is Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. scored with the Corporate Default template?

Most public companies sell a product or a service at a margin, so the moat question is whether that margin survives contact with competitors. The Corporate template scores the six defenses that show up in a general operating company's financial signature: whether it can hold price, produce more cheaply than rivals, keep its customers, earn a return above its cost of capital, withstand a downturn, and turn size into economics.

Which competitive defenses are measured for Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc.?

The Corporate Default template measures 6 defenses, and IONS scores: Pricing Power (58), Cost Advantage (81), Customer Stickiness (82), Capital Efficiency (40), Resilience (70), Scale & Market Position (60). Each is scored independently as a percentile against peers, so a company can be strong on one and weak on another — the overall score reflects how those defenses are weighted for this industry.

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