Ionis Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:IONS) Sets New 1-Year Low – Here’s What Happened

Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:IONS) shares hit a new 52-week low during trading on Friday . The stock traded as low as $33.29 and last traded at $33.53, with a volume of 145496 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $34.10.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

IONS has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $82.00 to $77.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, November 7th. StockNews.com lowered shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 12th. William Blair reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Friday, December 20th. Piper Sandler lowered their price target on Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $65.00 to $62.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, November 14th. Finally, Guggenheim dropped their price objective on Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $70.00 to $65.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, October 9th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating, twelve have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $60.65.

Ionis Pharmaceuticals Stock Performance

The stock has a market cap of $5.27 billion, a P/E ratio of -13.68 and a beta of 0.35. 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 stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $36.33 and a 200 day simple moving average of $41.75.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Brett P. Monia sold 6,630 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction 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 completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 167,393 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,369,303.65. This represents a 3.81 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Eric Swayze sold 1,194 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $37.92, for a total value of $45,276.48. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 33,713 shares in the company, valued at $1,278,396.96. This represents a 3.42 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 7,877 shares of company stock worth $299,578. Insiders own 2.71% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Ionis Pharmaceuticals

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 7.4% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,668,358 shares of the company’s stock valued at $106,922,000 after acquiring an additional 183,814 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its position in Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 8.7% during the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,443,020 shares of the company’s stock worth $57,807,000 after purchasing an additional 114,914 shares during the last quarter. ARK Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings in Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 1.7% during the 3rd quarter. ARK Investment Management LLC now owns 1,384,269 shares of the company’s stock worth $55,454,000 after buying an additional 23,244 shares during the period. Two Sigma Advisers LP grew its position in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 3.5% in the 3rd quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP now owns 1,332,411 shares of the company’s stock valued at $53,376,000 after buying an additional 45,300 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Groupama Asset Managment increased its stake in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 4.1% in the third quarter. Groupama Asset Managment now owns 916,060 shares of the company’s stock valued at $367,000 after buying an additional 36,084 shares during the period. 93.86% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.