Ionis Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:IONS) Sees Unusually-High Trading Volume – What’s Next?

Shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:IONS) saw unusually-strong trading volume on Wednesday . 1,453,317 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 38% from the previous session’s volume of 2,348,545 shares.The stock last traded at $51.9190 and had previously closed at $53.39.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

IONS has been the subject of several research analyst reports. HC Wainwright dropped their price objective on Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $130.00 to $125.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, July 10th. Oppenheimer reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $111.00 price objective on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. Citigroup dropped their target price on Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $115.00 to $100.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, July 10th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price target on Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $74.00 to $75.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, June 24th. Finally, Guggenheim lowered their price target on Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $106.00 to $89.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday. Eighteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $95.90.

Ionis Pharmaceuticals Stock Performance

The business has a fifty day moving average price of $72.82 and a 200-day moving average price of $75.99. The company has a quick ratio of 4.09, a current ratio of 4.10 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.75. The stock has a market capitalization of $8.80 billion, a P/E ratio of -25.71 and a beta of 0.36.

Ionis Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:IONS) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 29th. The company reported ($0.56) EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.85) by $0.29. The company had revenue of $246.09 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $195.56 million. Ionis Pharmaceuticals had a negative return on equity of 58.65% and a negative net margin of 30.91%.Ionis Pharmaceuticals’s revenue was up 86.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted ($0.93) earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. will post -3.76 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Ionis Pharmaceuticals

In related news, EVP Holly B. Kordasiewicz sold 362 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $84.30, for a total transaction of $30,516.60. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 22,096 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,862,692.80. This represents a 1.61% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, Director Allene M. Diaz sold 10,111 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $85.42, for a total transaction of $863,681.62. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 3,811 shares in the company, valued at approximately $325,535.62. This trade represents a 72.63% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 233,163 shares of company stock valued at $18,316,551. Corporate insiders own 1.81% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Ionis Pharmaceuticals

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. purchased a new position in Ionis Pharmaceuticals during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Cassaday & Co Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Ionis Pharmaceuticals during the 1st quarter valued at $30,000. Quarry LP bought a new position in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals in the 3rd quarter worth $38,000. Johnson Financial Group Inc. bought a new position in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals in the 3rd quarter worth $44,000. Finally, Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals during the 4th quarter worth $47,000. 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.