Ionis Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:IONS) Shares Gap Down After Insider Selling

Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:IONS) gapped down prior to trading on Monday after an insider sold shares in the company. The stock had previously closed at $73.55, but opened at $70.05. Ionis Pharmaceuticals shares last traded at $68.9420, with a volume of 1,018,979 shares changing hands.

Specifically, EVP Richard S. Geary sold 1,601 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $75.01, for a total transaction of $120,091.01. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 59,657 shares in the company, valued at $4,474,871.57. The trade was a 2.61% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Richard S. Geary sold 33,038 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, November 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $75.72, for a total value of $2,501,637.36. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 59,657 shares in the company, valued at $4,517,228.04. This represents a 35.64% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In other Ionis Pharmaceuticals news, EVP Brian Birchler sold 8,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, November 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $76.17, for a total value of $609,360.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 48,826 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,719,076.42. This trade represents a 14.08% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages recently commented on IONS. Needham & Company LLC increased their price objective on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $78.00 to $90.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 30th. Guggenheim raised their price target on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $90.00 to $92.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, September 23rd. The Goldman Sachs Group upgraded shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $45.00 to $65.00 in a research note on Friday, September 26th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $77.00 to $82.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, August 22nd. Finally, Barclays upped their target price on Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $80.00 to $95.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 30th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seventeen have given a Buy rating, three have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Ionis Pharmaceuticals has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $84.15.

Ionis Pharmaceuticals Stock Performance

The firm has a fifty day moving average of $67.65 and a 200 day moving average of $48.65. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.99, a current ratio of 2.87 and a quick ratio of 2.86. The stock has a market capitalization of $11.26 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -41.15 and a beta of 0.33.

Ionis Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:IONS) last announced its quarterly earnings results 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. The company had revenue of $157.00 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $131.75 million. Ionis Pharmaceuticals had a negative return on equity of 45.29% and a negative net margin of 26.45%.Ionis Pharmaceuticals’s revenue for the quarter was up 17.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted ($0.95) earnings per share. Ionis Pharmaceuticals has set its FY 2025 guidance at EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. will post -3.5 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Ionis Pharmaceuticals

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of IONS. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd purchased a new stake in Ionis Pharmaceuticals during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $1,488,000. Exome Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 121.0% in the first quarter. Exome Asset Management LLC now owns 135,616 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,092,000 after acquiring an additional 74,249 shares during the last quarter. Castle Rock Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals in the second quarter worth approximately $215,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. increased its position in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 40.8% during the first quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. now owns 148,690 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,486,000 after purchasing an additional 43,071 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Wedmont Private Capital acquired a new position in Ionis Pharmaceuticals in the 2nd quarter valued at $226,000. 93.86% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Ionis Pharmaceuticals Company Profile

Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc discovers and develops RNA-targeted therapeutics in the United States. The company offers SPINRAZA for spinal muscular atrophy (SMA) in pediatric and adult patients; TEGSEDI, an antisense injection for the treatment of polyneuropathy caused by hereditary transthyretin amyloidosis in adults; and WAYLIVRA, an antisense medicine for treatment for familial chylomicronemia syndrome (FCS) and familial partial lipodystrophy.