** Shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals IONS.O up 1.5% at $73.50 as co seeks capital raise to refinance debt
** Carlsbad, California-based firm announces private offering of $700 mln convertible bonds (CBs) due 2030
** Co plans to use net offering proceeds to repurchase/repay its 2026 0% CBs, any remainder for general corp purposes
** Drug developer for neurological and cardiometabolic diseases has about 162 mln shares outstanding for roughly $11.7 bln market cap
** IONS ended up 4.2% at $72.45 on Tues, up 107% YTD
** Of 24 analysts covering IONS, recommendation breakdown is 18 "strong buy" or "buy", 6 "hold", per LSEG
** Median PT of $83 up from $78 a month ago and $62 on Aug 11
(Lance Tupper is a Reuters market analyst. The views expressed are his own)
((lance.tupper@tr.com 1-646-279-6380))