Ionis Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:IONS) EVP C Frank Bennett Sells 85,089 Shares

Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:IONS) EVP C Frank Bennett sold 85,089 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $82.93, for a total transaction of $7,056,430.77. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 80,293 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,658,698.49. This trade represents a 51.45% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link.

C Frank Bennett also recently made the following trade(s):

• On Friday, January 30th, C Frank Bennett sold 5,885 shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $82.95, for a total transaction of $488,160.75.
• On Friday, January 30th, C Frank Bennett sold 5,885 shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $82.95, for a total value of $488,160.75.
• On Friday, January 16th, C Frank Bennett sold 8,977 shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $75.15, for a total value of $674,621.55.

Ionis Pharmaceuticals Trading Up 0.5%

IONS opened at $84.99 on Thursday. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $80.46 and a 200 day moving average price of $67.26. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.96, a current ratio of 2.79 and a quick ratio of 2.78. Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. has a 12 month low of $23.95 and a 12 month high of $86.15. The stock has a market capitalization of $13.77 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -50.29 and a beta of 0.29.

Institutional Trading of Ionis Pharmaceuticals

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. grew its position in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 253.3% during the second quarter. Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. now owns 3,800,000 shares of the company’s stock worth $150,138,000 after acquiring an additional 2,724,400 shares during the last quarter. Marshall Wace LLP boosted its stake in Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 7,219.3% during the 3rd quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 958,829 shares of the company’s stock worth $62,727,000 after purchasing an additional 945,729 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc. grew its position in Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 190.3% during the 3rd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 1,372,225 shares of the company’s stock worth $89,771,000 after purchasing an additional 899,476 shares during the last quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership purchased a new position in Ionis Pharmaceuticals during the 3rd quarter worth $41,223,000. Finally, Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. increased its stake in Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 230.4% in the third quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. now owns 878,155 shares of the company’s stock valued at $57,449,000 after purchasing an additional 612,362 shares during the period. 93.86% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

IONS has been the subject of several analyst reports. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $90.00 to $94.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, October 30th. Needham & Company LLC boosted 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. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised Ionis Pharmaceuticals from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their target price for the company from $49.00 to $80.00 in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $82.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, January 5th. Finally, Raymond James Financial reaffirmed a “strong-buy” rating and set a $89.00 price objective (up from $85.00) on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Thursday, October 30th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have given a Buy rating, three have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $86.45.

Ionis Pharmaceuticals Company Profile

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.