IONS
Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc.
IONS's outlook is improving, though it still trails on the overall score.
UNH
UnitedHealth Group Incorporated
UNH has the edge over IONS overall, supported by stronger fundamentals and lower modeled downside.
IONS Fundamentals
| Metric | Status |
|---|---|
| Under pressure | |
| Weak | |
| Weak | |
| Strong |
IONS's balance sheet is currently strong, but its revenue, profitability and cash flow are under pressure.
UNH Fundamentals
| Metric | Status |
|---|---|
| Stable | |
| Stable | |
| Healthy | |
| Healthy |
UNH's cash flow and balance sheet are currently healthy, and its revenue and profitability are stable.
IONS PE Valuation
IONS has no meaningful PE right now: it lost money over the past year.
UNH PE Valuation
| Level | PE | Price | Vs current |
|---|---|---|---|
| Forward | 18x | $405 | — |
| Cheap | 19x | $325 | -20% |
| Fair | 23x | $410 | +1.2% |
| Current | 23x | $405 | — |
| Expensive | 30x | $526 | +30% |
Historical ranges are pointers, not guarantees.
UNH's PE is in its fair range at 23x. If earnings grow as analysts expect, today's price would be 18x next year's earnings, in its cheap range.
IONS Forward outlook
| Metric | Outlook |
|---|---|
| -- | |
| Losses shrinking | |
| Strong growth | |
| Strongly improving | |
| Limited | |
| Low |
IONS has the edge over UNH on the outlook, with more favorable revenue expectations.
UNH Forward outlook
| Metric | Outlook |
|---|---|
| Strongly improving | |
| Strong growth | |
| Stable | |
| Improving | |
| Moderate | |
| Low |
Analysts expect UNH's earnings to grow and its profitability to improve, with its revenue holding steady. However, they disagree widely on these estimates.
IONS Earnings Per Share
| Quarter | TTM EPS | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | -$3.32 | -$1.63 |
| Q2 2026 | -$3.46 | -$1.62 |
| Q1 2026 | -$2.07 | +$0.92 |
| Q4 2025 | -$2.44 | +$0.60 |
| Q3 2025 | -$1.69 | +$0.75 |
| Q2 2025 | -$1.84 | +$0.68 |
| Q1 2025 | -$2.99 | -$0.32 |
| Q4 2024 | -$3.04 | -$0.48 |
IONS is still losing money, but less than at its worst: $3.32 per share over the past year, against $4.23 at its worst in late 2021.
UNH Earnings Per Share
| Quarter | TTM EPS | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Forward | $22.65 | +29% |
| Q3 2026 | $17.55 | -8.5% |
| Q2 2026 | $15.58 | -33% |
| Q1 2026 | $13.28 | -44% |
| Q4 2025 | $13.23 | -15% |
| Q3 2025 | $19.17 | +25% |
| Q2 2025 | $23.09 | +53% |
| Q1 2025 | $23.89 | +46% |
| Q4 2024 | $15.51 | -35% |
UNH has the edge over IONS on earnings quality, reporting a profit while its opponent remains loss making.
IONS Quarterly Revenue
| Quarter | Revenue | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | $242.7M | +55% |
| Q2 2026 | $267.9M | -41% |
| Q1 2026 | $246.1M | +87% |
| Q4 2025 | $203.3M | -10% |
| Q3 2025 | $156.7M | +17% |
| Q2 2025 | $452M | +101% |
| Q1 2025 | $131.6M | +10% |
| Q4 2024 | $226.6M | -30% |
IONS's revenue is recovering but still below its 2019 peak: $243M last quarter, up 55% from the same quarter a year ago.
| Quarter | Margin | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | -54% | +48 points |
| Q2 2026 | -38% | -69 points |
| Q1 2026 | -48% | +64 points |
| Q4 2025 | -105% | -57 points |
| Q3 2025 | -102% | +8.9 points |
| Q2 2025 | 31% | +60 points |
| Q1 2025 | -112% | +14 points |
| Q4 2024 | -49% | -47 points |
IONS's operating margin was −54% last quarter, up 48 points from the same quarter a year ago.
UNH Quarterly Revenue
| Quarter | Revenue | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | $112.7B | -0.4% |
| Q2 2026 | $112B | +0.4% |
| Q1 2026 | $111.7B | +2% |
| Q4 2025 | $113.2B | +12% |
| Q3 2025 | $113.2B | +12% |
| Q2 2025 | $111.6B | +13% |
| Q1 2025 | $109.6B | +9.8% |
| Q4 2024 | $100.8B | +6.8% |
UNH's revenue has held roughly level: $113B last quarter, about level with the same quarter a year ago.
| Quarter | Margin | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | 5.8% | +2 points |
| Q2 2026 | 7.1% | +2.5 points |
| Q1 2026 | 8.1% | -0.3 points |
| Q4 2025 | 0.3% | -7.4 points |
| Q3 2025 | 3.8% | -4.8 points |
| Q2 2025 | 4.6% | -3.4 points |
| Q1 2025 | 8.3% | +0.4 points |
| Q4 2024 | 7.7% | -0.4 points |
UNH has the edge over IONS on profitability, with a higher operating margin.
IONS Free Cash Flow
| Quarter | Free cash flow | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | -$192.1M | -$55.4M |
| Q2 2026 | $549.5M | +295% |
| Q1 2026 | -$814.6M | -$651.2M |
| Q4 2025 | -$159M | -$17.4M |
| Q3 2025 | -$136.7M | -$12.7M |
| Q2 2025 | $139M | +$265.1M |
| Q1 2025 | -$163.4M | -$8.9M |
| Q4 2024 | -$141.6M | -520% |
IONS has burned cash in most quarters: −$616M over the past year, against −$303M the year before.
UNH Free Cash Flow
| Quarter | Free cash flow | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | $4.3B | -16% |
| Q2 2026 | $10.3B | +63% |
| Q1 2026 | $8.1B | +79% |
| Q4 2025 | $160M | -89% |
| Q3 2025 | $5.1B | -61% |
| Q2 2025 | $6.3B | +6.9% |
| Q1 2025 | $4.6B | +1037% |
| Q4 2024 | $1.5B | +$7.6B |
UNH has the edge over IONS on cash generation, producing positive trailing cash flow while its opponent burns cash.
IONS Total Shares
| Period | Change % | Net change |
|---|---|---|
| Quarterly | +0.5% | +786K shares |
| 1 year | +4% | +6.4M shares |
| 3 years | +16% | +22.9M shares |
| 5 years | +18% | +25.1M shares |
| Available history | +8.4% | +12.9M shares |
IONS has 166M diluted shares, up 4% from a year ago.
| Quarter | Spent |
|---|---|
| Q4 2021 | — |
| Q3 2021 | — |
| Q2 2021 | — |
| Q1 2021 | — |
| Q4 2020 | — |
| Q3 2020 | — |
| Q2 2020 | $52,000 |
| Q1 2020 | $90.6M |
UNH Total Shares
| Period | Change % | Net change |
|---|---|---|
| Quarterly | -0.4% | -4M shares |
| 1 year | -0.7% | -6M shares |
| 3 years | -3.6% | -34M shares |
| 5 years | -5.5% | -53M shares |
| Available history | -6.6% | -64M shares |
UNH has the edge over IONS on shareholder dilution, with a more favorable share count trend.
| Quarter | Spent |
|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | $3.4B |
| Q2 2026 | $1.6B |
| Q1 2026 | — |
| Q4 2025 | — |
| Q3 2025 | — |
| Q2 2025 | $2.5B |
| Q1 2025 | $3B |
| Q4 2024 | $5B |
UNH spent $5B buying back its own shares over the past year, down 52% from the year before.
IONS Net Leverage
| Quarter | Net Leverage | Status |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2022 | -8.8x | Net Cash |
| Q2 2022 | -56.9x | Net Cash |
| Q1 2022 | -24.7x | Net Cash |
| Q3 2020 | -5.0x | Net Cash |
| Q2 2020 | -3.2x | Net Cash |
| Q1 2020 | -2.5x | Net Cash |
| Q4 2019 | -1.8x | Net Cash |
IONS has more cash than debt.
UNH Net Leverage
| Quarter | Net Leverage | Status |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | 1.7x | Healthy |
| Q2 2026 | 1.7x | Healthy |
| Q1 2026 | 2.2x | Moderate |
| Q4 2025 | 2.3x | Moderate |
| Q3 2025 | 1.7x | Healthy |
| Q2 2025 | 1.5x | Healthy |
| Q1 2025 | 1.3x | Healthy |
| Q4 2024 | 1.4x | Healthy |
UNH's net debt is about 1.7 years of its operating earnings (EBITDA), about the same as a year ago.
IONS Weekly Momentum
| Metric | Value | Status |
|---|---|---|
| RSI | 21.4 | Oversold |
| Stochastic | 3.6 | Oversold |
IONS's weekly RSI is 21 (oversold) and its Stochastic is 4 (oversold).
UNH Weekly Momentum
| Metric | Value | Status |
|---|---|---|
| RSI | 56.4 | Neutral |
| Stochastic | 60.0 | Neutral |
UNH's weekly RSI is 56 (neutral) and its Stochastic is 60 (neutral).
IONS PE vs Healthcare Sector
| Metric | IONS | Sector median | Relative |
|---|---|---|---|
| PE | N/A | 26x | — |
IONS has no meaningful PE right now: it lost money over the past year.
UNH PE vs Healthcare Sector
| Metric | UNH | Sector median | Relative |
|---|---|---|---|
| PE | 23x | 26x | 11% below |
| PE % | 47 | 29 | 18 pts above |
UNH is trading at 23x earnings, a 11% discount to the Healthcare sector's median of 26x.
IONS Weekly Moving Averages
| Moving average | MA price | Relative |
|---|---|---|
| 8 week MA | $41.2 | 34% below |
| 20 week MA | $51.2 | 47% below |
| 50 week MA | $66.9 | 59% below |
| 100 week MA | $55.6 | 51% below |
| 200 week MA | $49.0 | 44% below |
IONS is in a downtrend: it's below all five of its weekly moving averages, and 44% below its 200-week average.
UNH Weekly Moving Averages
| Moving average | MA price | Relative |
|---|---|---|
| 8 week MA | $394.2 | 2.8% above |
| 20 week MA | $400.5 | 1.2% above |
| 50 week MA | $361.2 | 12% above |
| 100 week MA | $376.0 | 7.8% above |
| 200 week MA | $446.6 | 9.3% below |
UNH has the edge over IONS on trend strength, trading above more of its moving averages.
IONS Yearly ROI
| Year | Start price | End price | ROI |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | $60.8 | $59.7 | -1.8% |
| 2021 | $59.7 | $32.7 | -45% |
| 2022 | $32.7 | $38.2 | +17% |
| 2023 | $38.2 | $50.6 | +33% |
| 2024 | $50.6 | $35.9 | -29% |
| 2025 | $35.9 | $79.9 | +123% |
| 2026 YTD | $79.9 | $27.3 | -66% |
IONS's yearly returns have swung widely, from +123% in 2025 to −45% in 2021. It's down 66% so far in 2026.
UNH Yearly ROI
| Year | Start price | End price | ROI |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | $296.0 | $340.8 | +15% |
| 2021 | $340.8 | $495.4 | +45% |
| 2022 | $495.4 | $531.3 | +7.3% |
| 2023 | $531.3 | $526.5 | -0.9% |
| 2024 | $526.5 | $510.0 | -3.1% |
| 2025 | $510.0 | $331.8 | -35% |
| 2026 YTD | $331.8 | $405.1 | +22% |
UNH has the edge over IONS on returns for 2026, with the stronger performance.