Ionis Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:IONS) Director Michael Hayden Acquires 15,000 Shares

Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:IONS) Director Michael Hayden bought 15,000 shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction on Thursday, July 30th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $53.38 per share, with a total value of $800,700.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director directly owned 19,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,014,220. This represents a 375.00% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link.

Ionis Pharmaceuticals Stock Down 2.8%

NASDAQ:IONS opened at $51.77 on Friday. Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $40.03 and a fifty-two week high of $86.74. The stock has a market capitalization of $8.56 billion, a P/E ratio of -14.96 and a beta of 0.36. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.07, a quick ratio of 4.09 and a current ratio of 7.89. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $69.55 and its 200-day simple moving average is $74.57.

Ionis Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:IONS) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 29th. The company reported ($0.56) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.85) by $0.29. The firm had revenue of $246.09 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $195.56 million. Ionis Pharmaceuticals had a negative net margin of 64.76% and a negative return on equity of 111.08%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 86.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned ($0.93) EPS. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. will post -3.69 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in IONS. Capital World Investors grew its holdings in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 41.2% during the fourth quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 17,961,299 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,420,918,000 after buying an additional 5,238,571 shares during the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. increased its position in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 19,941.6% in the 4th quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 1,321,345 shares of the company’s stock valued at $104,532,000 after acquiring an additional 1,314,752 shares during the period. Baker BROS. Advisors LP raised its stake in Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 216.1% in the 4th quarter. Baker BROS. Advisors LP now owns 1,791,841 shares of the company’s stock worth $141,753,000 after acquiring an additional 1,225,043 shares during the last quarter. Marshall Wace LLP raised its stake in Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 7,219.3% in the 3rd quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 958,829 shares of the company’s stock worth $62,727,000 after acquiring an additional 945,729 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership acquired a new stake in Ionis Pharmaceuticals during the 3rd quarter worth about $41,223,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.86% of the company’s stock.

More Ionis Pharmaceuticals News

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

• Positive Sentiment: Ionis beat Wall Street’s second-quarter revenue and earnings expectations, helped by commercial growth despite difficult year-over-year comparisons. Management also reaffirmed its 2026 outlook, supporting confidence in the company’s operating trajectory. Zacks Q2 earnings report
• Positive Sentiment: Director Michael R. Hayden bought 15,000 shares for approximately $800,700 on July 30 and another 5,000 shares for $258,000 on July 31. The purchases materially increased his ownership and may be viewed as a signal of confidence in Ionis’s valuation and prospects. SEC insider-trading filing
• Neutral Sentiment: Wells Fargo lowered its price target from $100 to $95 while maintaining an “overweight” rating. The reduced target reflects more cautious valuation expectations, but the rating remains bullish. Benzinga analyst report
• Neutral Sentiment: HC Wainwright cut its target from $125 to $115 but retained a “buy” rating, similarly indicating lower near-term valuation expectations while maintaining a positive view of the stock. StreetInsider analyst report
• Negative Sentiment: Pomerantz LLP announced an investigation into potential claims on behalf of Ionis investors. Although the announcement does not establish wrongdoing, it adds legal and reputational uncertainty and may weigh on sentiment. Pomerantz investor alert

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Jefferies Financial Group reduced their price target on Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $113.00 to $90.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, July 9th. Leerink Partners raised their price objective on Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $122.00 to $129.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, June 25th. TD Cowen restated a “buy” rating and set a $108.00 target price on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Monday, June 15th. Guggenheim reduced their target price on Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $106.00 to $89.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, July 21st. Finally, Weiss Ratings reiterated a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Friday, July 17th. Eighteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Ionis Pharmaceuticals presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $94.85.

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.