Insider Selling: Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:IONS) EVP Sells $39,046.45 in Stock

Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:IONS) EVP Patrick R. O’neil sold 1,207 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $32.35, for a total value of $39,046.45. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 56,245 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,819,525.75. This trade represents a 2.10 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink.

Ionis Pharmaceuticals Price Performance

Shares of IONS opened at $31.76 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.12, a quick ratio of 8.82 and a current ratio of 8.47. Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $30.23 and a fifty-two week high of $52.34. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $33.32 and a 200-day simple moving average of $37.98. The company has a market capitalization of $5.05 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -10.45 and a beta of 0.34.

Ionis Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:IONS) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 19th. The company reported ($0.66) earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of ($1.12) by $0.46. Ionis Pharmaceuticals had a negative return on equity of 100.05% and a negative net margin of 64.25%. The company had revenue of $227.00 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $140.97 million. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.12 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 30.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. will post -3.5 earnings per share for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and set a $70.00 target price on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Thursday, February 20th. Citigroup reduced their price objective on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $67.00 to $64.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, February 20th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $82.00 to $77.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, November 7th. Piper Sandler cut their price target on Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $65.00 to $62.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, November 14th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $60.00 price objective on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Thursday, February 20th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating, thirteen have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Ionis Pharmaceuticals presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $60.00.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Ionis Pharmaceuticals

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Nicollet Investment Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 1.5% in the 3rd quarter. Nicollet Investment Management Inc. now owns 20,402 shares of the company’s stock worth $817,000 after acquiring an additional 294 shares during the period. Amalgamated Bank lifted its position in Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 3.1% in the third quarter. Amalgamated Bank now owns 9,957 shares of the company’s stock valued at $399,000 after purchasing an additional 300 shares during the period. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. lifted its position 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 purchasing an additional 314 shares during the period. Xponance Inc. boosted its holdings in Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 1.7% in the 4th quarter. Xponance Inc. now owns 19,339 shares of the company’s stock valued at $676,000 after purchasing an additional 318 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Vontobel Holding Ltd. increased its position in Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 6.6% during the 4th quarter. Vontobel Holding Ltd. now owns 5,865 shares of the company’s stock worth $205,000 after purchasing an additional 363 shares during the period. 93.86% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Ionis Pharmaceuticals

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.