Insider Selling: Ionis Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:IONS) EVP Sells $313,308.06 in Stock

Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:IONS) EVP Holly Kordasiewicz sold 4,141 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $75.66, for a total value of $313,308.06. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 14,718 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,113,563.88. This represents a 21.96% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website.

Ionis Pharmaceuticals Trading Up 3.0%

IONS stock opened at $81.79 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $13.25 billion, a PE ratio of -48.40 and a beta of 0.28. Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. has a one year low of $23.95 and a one year high of $86.15. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $79.27 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $64.55. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.96, a quick ratio of 2.78 and a current ratio of 2.79.

Ionis Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:IONS) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 29th. The company reported ($0.80) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of ($1.15) by $0.35. Ionis Pharmaceuticals had a negative net margin of 26.45% and a negative return on equity of 44.26%. The company had revenue of $156.72 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $131.75 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned ($0.95) EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 17.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts predict that Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. will post -3.5 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Ionis Pharmaceuticals

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in IONS. Steigerwald Gordon & Koch Inc. bought a new stake in Ionis Pharmaceuticals in the third quarter valued at $25,000. Golden State Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 198.4% in the 3rd quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC now owns 376 shares of the company’s stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 250 shares in the last quarter. Mather Group LLC. purchased a new stake in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals in the 3rd quarter worth about $27,000. Allworth Financial LP boosted its stake in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 231.8% during the 2nd quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 740 shares of the company’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 517 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Quarry LP purchased a new position in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals during the third quarter valued at about $38,000. Institutional investors own 93.86% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

IONS has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. The Goldman Sachs Group raised Ionis Pharmaceuticals from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and boosted their target price for the company from $45.00 to $65.00 in a research note on Friday, September 26th. Barclays lifted their price target on Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $80.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 30th. Oppenheimer increased their price objective on Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $84.00 to $90.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Needham & Company LLC lifted their target price on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $78.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 30th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada increased their price target on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $82.00 to $95.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 17th. 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 company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $86.45.

Trending Headlines about Ionis Pharmaceuticals

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

• Positive Sentiment: EU approval for Dawnzera in hereditary angioedema expands Ionis’ commercial footprint after the drug already cleared the U.S. last August; this approval accelerates launch/market access opportunities in Europe and is the likely near-term catalyst supporting the stock’s move higher. Read More.
• Neutral Sentiment: Analyst and technical backdrop is mixed but constructive: consensus remains a “Moderate Buy” with a ~ $87 consensus target, and the stock is trading above its 200?day moving average (support) while sitting near the 50?day — elevated intraday volume shows active positioning that could amplify moves around clinical/commercial milestones. Read More.
• Negative Sentiment: Large, concentrated insider selling on Jan. 16 — including CEO Brett P. Monia (~44,034 shares) and multiple EVPs (individual sales in the ~8k–13k share range) totaling roughly ~117k shares — may pressure sentiment despite possible non-fundamental reasons (tax/diversification). Review the SEC disclosures and press reports for details. Read More. Read More.

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.