Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:IONS) Sees Large Increase in Short Interest

Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:IONS) saw a significant increase in short interest in the month of October. As of October 31st, there was short interest totalling 10,740,000 shares, an increase of 8.8% from the October 15th total of 9,870,000 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 1,540,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 7.0 days. Currently, 7.4% of the company’s shares are short sold.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Barclays raised their price objective on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $45.00 to $51.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. Leerink Partnrs upgraded shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 24th. Guggenheim decreased their price target on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $70.00 to $65.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, October 9th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 12th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $82.00 to $77.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, November 7th. Two investment 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 company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $60.65.

Ionis Pharmaceuticals Trading Down 7.8 %

Shares of NASDAQ:IONS traded down $2.89 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $34.34. The stock had a trading volume of 1,801,968 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,109,779. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $39.62 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $42.76. Ionis Pharmaceuticals has a twelve month low of $34.24 and a twelve month high of $54.44. The company has a current ratio of 8.91, a quick ratio of 8.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.86. The firm has a market cap of $5.42 billion, a PE ratio of -14.07 and a beta of 0.39.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO Brett P. Monia sold 6,630 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $38.05, for a total transaction of $252,271.50. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 167,393 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,369,303.65. This trade represents a 3.81 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Eric Swayze sold 1,194 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $37.92, for a total transaction of $45,276.48. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 33,713 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,278,396.96. The trade was a 3.42 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 8,197 shares of company stock worth $315,310 over the last ninety days. 2.71% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Ionis Pharmaceuticals

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its stake in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 83.9% during the 3rd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 664 shares of the company’s stock worth $27,000 after acquiring an additional 303 shares in the last quarter. nVerses Capital LLC acquired a new stake in Ionis Pharmaceuticals during the 2nd quarter valued at $29,000. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. acquired a new stake in Ionis Pharmaceuticals during the 2nd quarter valued at $37,000. Mather Group LLC. lifted its holdings in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 35.8% during the second quarter. Mather Group LLC. now owns 911 shares of the company’s stock worth $39,000 after buying an additional 240 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Capital Performance Advisors LLP acquired a new stake in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals during the third quarter worth $40,000. 93.86% of the stock is owned by 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.