Insider Selling: Ionis Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:IONS) CEO Sells 14,565 Shares of Stock

Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:IONS) CEO Brett Monia sold 14,565 shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction on Wednesday, June 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $78.41, for a total transaction of $1,142,041.65. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 245,571 shares in the company, valued at $19,255,222.11. This represents a 5.60% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan.

Ionis Pharmaceuticals Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:IONS traded up $2.84 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $81.18. The company had a trading volume of 3,828,233 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,762,614. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.75, a current ratio of 4.10 and a quick ratio of 4.09. The company has a market cap of $13.42 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -39.22 and a beta of 0.37. Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. has a 12-month low of $39.37 and a 12-month high of $86.74. The company has a fifty day moving average of $75.03 and a two-hundred day moving average of $77.36.

Ionis Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:IONS) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The company reported ($0.56) earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.85) by $0.29. The company had revenue of $246.09 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $195.56 million. Ionis Pharmaceuticals had a negative return on equity of 58.65% and a negative net margin of 30.91%.Ionis Pharmaceuticals’s quarterly revenue was up 86.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned ($0.93) earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts expect that Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. will post -3.64 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Ionis Pharmaceuticals

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. bought a new stake in Ionis Pharmaceuticals during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Cassaday & Co Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Ionis Pharmaceuticals during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Quarry LP purchased a new stake in Ionis Pharmaceuticals during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $38,000. Johnson Financial Group Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals during the third quarter valued at approximately $44,000. Finally, Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $47,000. Institutional investors own 93.86% of the company’s stock.

Trending Headlines about Ionis Pharmaceuticals

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

• Positive Sentiment: Ionis received FDA approval expanding TRYNGOLZA to treat severe hypertriglyceridemia, strengthening the drug’s commercial opportunity and making it the first approved therapy for the condition. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Ionis announced a licensing deal with Recordati for ex-U.S. rights to zilganersen in Alexander disease, which provides upfront and royalty potential while allowing Ionis to keep U.S. commercialization rights. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Leerink Partners raised its price target on Ionis, signaling continued analyst confidence in the company’s pipeline and commercial execution. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: HC Wainwright kept a Buy rating but lowered some 2027 EPS estimates, which is a mild headwind but not a major shift in the firm’s overall view. Article Title

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on IONS. Needham & Company LLC lifted their price objective on Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $103.00 to $105.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 25th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their target price on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $74.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals in a report on Tuesday, April 21st. Bank of America lifted their price target on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $100.00 to $111.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, April 9th. Finally, Piper Sandler upped their price target on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $87.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, February 27th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have issued a Buy rating, two have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Ionis Pharmaceuticals currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $102.90.

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.