Insider Selling: Ionis Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:IONS) CEO Sells $9,525,584.00 in Stock

Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:IONS) CEO Brett Monia sold 126,670 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $75.20, for a total transaction of $9,525,584.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 242,662 shares in the company, valued at $18,248,182.40. This represents a 34.30% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink.

Ionis Pharmaceuticals Stock Down 1.6%

Shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals stock opened at $71.19 on Friday. The business has a 50-day moving average of $80.51 and a 200-day moving average of $74.21. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.76, a current ratio of 3.83 and a quick ratio of 3.81. The company has a market capitalization of $11.76 billion, a PE ratio of -29.18 and a beta of 0.31. Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. has a 1-year low of $23.95 and a 1-year high of $86.74.

Ionis Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:IONS) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 25th. The company reported ($1.41) EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($1.23) by ($0.18). The business had revenue of $203.33 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $156.07 million. Ionis Pharmaceuticals had a negative return on equity of 68.82% and a negative net margin of 40.36%.The company’s revenue was down 10.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted ($0.66) EPS. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. will post -3.5 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have recently commented on IONS shares. TD Cowen reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Wednesday, December 3rd. Barclays began coverage on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Wednesday, January 28th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $95.00 price target for the company. Bank of America increased their price objective on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $86.00 to $97.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 9th. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price objective on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $73.00 to $77.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, February 26th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Wednesday, February 25th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have issued a Buy rating, three have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $89.00.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Ionis Pharmaceuticals

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Grandfield & Dodd LLC lifted its position in Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 0.4% in the 4th quarter. Grandfield & Dodd LLC now owns 37,821 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,992,000 after purchasing an additional 146 shares during the last quarter. CWM LLC grew its position in Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 7.3% in the 3rd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 2,488 shares of the company’s stock worth $163,000 after purchasing an additional 170 shares during the last quarter. Wedmont Private Capital increased its stake in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 3.2% in the fourth quarter. Wedmont Private Capital now owns 5,536 shares of the company’s stock valued at $460,000 after purchasing an additional 173 shares during the period. Prospera Financial Services Inc increased its stake in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 3.9% in the fourth quarter. Prospera Financial Services Inc now owns 4,759 shares of the company’s stock valued at $376,000 after purchasing an additional 178 shares during the period. Finally, MetLife Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 2.6% during the fourth quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC now owns 9,674 shares of the company’s stock valued at $765,000 after buying an additional 246 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 93.86% of the company’s stock.

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.