Ionis Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:IONS) Director Michael Hayden Buys 5,000 Shares of Stock

Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:IONS) Director Michael Hayden acquired 5,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, July 31st. The stock was acquired at an average price of $51.60 per share, with a total value of $258,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 24,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,238,400. This represents a 26.32% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website.

Ionis Pharmaceuticals Trading Down 2.8%

Shares of NASDAQ:IONS opened at $51.77 on Friday. Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. has a 1 year low of $40.03 and a 1 year high of $86.74. The firm has a market capitalization of $8.56 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -14.96 and a beta of 0.36. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.07, a current ratio of 7.89 and a quick ratio of 4.09. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $69.55 and its 200-day moving average price is $74.57.

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

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

IONS has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Morgan Stanley dropped their target price on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $130.00 to $110.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, July 10th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Friday, July 17th. Guggenheim lowered their price objective on Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $106.00 to $89.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, July 21st. Jefferies Financial Group lowered their price objective on Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $113.00 to $90.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, July 9th. Finally, Leerink Partners boosted their price objective on Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $122.00 to $129.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, June 25th. Eighteen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $94.85.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Ionis Pharmaceuticals

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. grew its holdings in Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 72.5% in the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 652,518 shares of the company’s stock valued at $19,686,000 after buying an additional 274,310 shares in the last quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC raised its holdings in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 6.4% during the 1st quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 659,435 shares of the company’s stock worth $19,895,000 after acquiring an additional 39,794 shares during the period. Focus Partners Wealth raised its holdings in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 30.1% during the 1st quarter. Focus Partners Wealth now owns 9,832 shares of the company’s stock worth $297,000 after acquiring an additional 2,277 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals during the 2nd quarter valued at about $220,000. Finally, Prudential Financial Inc. boosted its position in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 47.8% during the 2nd quarter. Prudential Financial Inc. now owns 9,254 shares of the company’s stock valued at $341,000 after acquiring an additional 2,991 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other 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.