Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. $IONS Shares Sold by Rafferty Asset Management LLC

Rafferty Asset Management LLC trimmed its stake in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:IONS) by 13.1% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 125,773 shares of the company’s stock after selling 18,997 shares during the period. Rafferty Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Ionis Pharmaceuticals were worth $8,228,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the stock. Steigerwald Gordon & Koch Inc. purchased a new position in Ionis Pharmaceuticals in the 3rd quarter valued at about $25,000. Golden State Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 198.4% during the 3rd quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC now owns 376 shares of the company’s stock worth $25,000 after buying an additional 250 shares in the last quarter. Mather Group LLC. acquired a new position in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals during the third quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Allworth Financial LP lifted its position in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 231.8% in the second quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 740 shares of the company’s stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 517 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Meeder Asset Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 620.2% in the third quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. now owns 713 shares of the company’s stock valued at $47,000 after acquiring an additional 614 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.86% of the company’s stock.

Ionis Pharmaceuticals News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting Ionis Pharmaceuticals this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Piper Sandler raised its price target to $100 and moved to an “overweight” rating, signaling ~23% upside from current levels — a clear buy-side endorsement. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Needham lifted its price target to $103 from $90, another analyst upgrade supporting the rally and reflecting greater confidence in revenue trajectory. Needham Lifts PT on Ionis Pharmaceuticals (IONS) to $103 From $90
• Positive Sentiment: Updates to Tryngolza outlook are materially positive: recent analysis lifts peak revenue estimates (several sources cite >$2B for Tryngolza and company-level peak revenue/royalty/milestone potential in the multi‑billion range), and management guides to cash-flow breakeven by 2028 — bullish for long-term value. Ionis Pharmaceuticals: Digesting Recent Events
• Neutral Sentiment: Company presented at Oppenheimer’s healthcare conference; slides/transcript provide additional visibility into pipeline progress and commercialization strategy but are informational rather than catalytic. IONS Presents at Oppenheimer Conference Transcript
• Neutral Sentiment: General earnings call coverage/recaps are available for detail on management commentary and guidance; useful for modeling but not single-handedly market-moving. Q4 2025 Earnings Call Summary
• Negative Sentiment: Q4 results were mixed: revenue and Tryngolza sales beat expectations, but EPS missed estimates and management gave a softer 2026 outlook, which pressured the stock in after-hours/early trade. Ionis Q4 Earnings & Sales Beat, Stock Down on Soft 2026 Outlook
• Negative Sentiment: Coverage noted the EPS miss led to a gap-down reaction in some sessions; near-term uptake for new drugs and the FY2026 revenue cadence remain the main risk factors to watch. Shares Gap Down on Disappointing Earnings
• Negative Sentiment: Stifel raised its target modestly to $77 but kept a “hold” rating — the lower relative PT signals at least one shop sees limited near-term upside. Article Title

Insider Buying and Selling at Ionis Pharmaceuticals

In other news, EVP Eugene Schneider sold 6,179 shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $83.45, for a total transaction of $515,637.55. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 69,702 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,816,631.90. The trade was a 8.14% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Brett P. Monia sold 29,430 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $85.79, for a total value of $2,524,799.70. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 254,497 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $21,833,297.63. The trade was a 10.37% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 436,579 shares of company stock worth $35,367,233. Insiders own 2.71% of the company’s stock.

Ionis Pharmaceuticals Trading Up 0.7%

Shares of IONS stock opened at $81.15 on Monday. The company has a current ratio of 3.83, a quick ratio of 3.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.76. Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. has a twelve month low of $23.95 and a twelve month high of $86.74. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $81.33 and its 200-day moving average price is $72.32. The stock has a market cap of $13.41 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -33.26 and a beta of 0.31.

Ionis Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:IONS) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 25th. The company reported ($1.41) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($1.23) by ($0.18). Ionis Pharmaceuticals had a negative return on equity of 68.82% and a negative net margin of 40.36%.The firm had revenue of $203.00 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $156.07 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted ($0.66) earnings per share. Ionis Pharmaceuticals’s revenue for the quarter was down 10.6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts predict that Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. will post -3.5 earnings per share for the current year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts recently commented on IONS shares. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Thursday, January 22nd. TD Cowen reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals in a report on Wednesday, December 3rd. Morgan Stanley set a $95.00 target price on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price target on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $73.00 to $77.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday. Finally, Leerink Partners upped their price objective on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $85.00 to $100.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, December 15th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have issued a Buy rating, three have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Ionis Pharmaceuticals has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $88.80.

About Ionis Pharmaceuticals

Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc is a biotechnology company focused on the discovery and development of RNA-targeted therapies designed to modulate gene expression. The company’s proprietary antisense oligonucleotide (ASO) technology enables the selective binding of short synthetic strands of nucleic acids to messenger RNA (mRNA), thereby inhibiting or altering the production of disease-causing proteins. Ionis’ pipeline spans a range of therapeutic areas, including neurological disorders, cardiovascular conditions, metabolic diseases and rare genetic disorders.

Since its founding in 1989 by Dr.