Ionis Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:IONS) Shares Up 7% – What’s Next?

Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:IONS)’s stock price rose 7% during trading on Thursday . The company traded as high as $34.54 and last traded at $34.77. Approximately 1,024,178 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 29% from the average daily volume of 1,450,947 shares. The stock had previously closed at $32.50.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

IONS has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. StockNews.com lowered shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 12th. Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $70.00 target price on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals in a report on Wednesday, January 15th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $82.00 to $77.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, November 7th. Guggenheim dropped their target price on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $70.00 to $65.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, October 9th. Finally, Piper Sandler dropped their target price on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $65.00 to $62.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, November 14th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating, twelve have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $60.65.

Ionis Pharmaceuticals Trading Up 0.8 %

The company has a quick ratio of 8.82, a current ratio of 8.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.86. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $35.23 and its 200 day moving average price is $40.72. The company has a market capitalization of $5.49 billion, a P/E ratio of -14.24 and a beta of 0.35.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Ionis Pharmaceuticals news, EVP Eric Swayze sold 1,194 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $37.92, for a total value of $45,276.48. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 33,713 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,278,396.96. This represents a 3.42 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CFO Elizabeth L. Hougen sold 8,870 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $32.81, for a total transaction of $291,024.70. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 107,885 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,539,706.85. The trade was a 7.60 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 57,293 shares of company stock valued at $1,914,820. Corporate insiders own 2.71% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in IONS. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its stake in Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 83.9% in the third quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 664 shares of the company’s stock valued at $27,000 after acquiring an additional 303 shares during the last quarter. Capital Performance Advisors LLP purchased a new position in Ionis Pharmaceuticals in the third quarter valued at about $40,000. Prospera Private Wealth LLC purchased a new position in Ionis Pharmaceuticals in the third quarter valued at about $42,000. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. boosted its stake in Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 40.9% in the third quarter. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. now owns 1,081 shares of the company’s stock valued at $43,000 after acquiring an additional 314 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Quantbot Technologies LP purchased a new position in Ionis Pharmaceuticals in the third quarter valued at about $51,000. 93.86% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Ionis Pharmaceuticals Company Profile

Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc discovers and develops RNA-targeted therapeutics in the United States. The company offers SPINRAZA for spinal muscular atrophy (SMA) in pediatric and adult patients; TEGSEDI, an antisense injection for the treatment of polyneuropathy caused by hereditary transthyretin amyloidosis in adults; and WAYLIVRA, an antisense medicine for treatment for familial chylomicronemia syndrome (FCS) and familial partial lipodystrophy.