Ionis Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:IONS) EVP Elizabeth Hougen Sells 12,922 Shares of Stock

Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:IONS) EVP Elizabeth Hougen sold 12,922 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $75.22, for a total value of $971,992.84. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 126,307 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,500,812.54. This represents a 9.28% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link.

Ionis Pharmaceuticals Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:IONS opened at $77.53 on Wednesday. The company has a market cap of $12.56 billion, a P/E ratio of -45.88 and a beta of 0.28. 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, Inc. has a one year low of $23.95 and a one year high of $86.15. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $78.90 and its 200 day simple moving average is $64.33.

Ionis Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:IONS) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 29th. The company reported ($0.80) earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of ($1.15) by $0.35. Ionis Pharmaceuticals had a negative return on equity of 44.26% and a negative net margin of 26.45%.The firm 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 business earned ($0.95) EPS. Ionis Pharmaceuticals’s quarterly revenue was up 17.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. will post -3.5 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Key Stories Impacting Ionis Pharmaceuticals

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

• Positive Sentiment: Analyst / media bullishness on olezarsen: A recent Seeking Alpha piece highlights an expected 2026 launch of olezarsen in SHTG and argues that approval/commercial rollout could drive a substantial revenue inflection for Ionis; the article notes strong recent momentum and positions olezarsen as the key upside catalyst. Ionis: Expected 2026 Launch Of Olezarsen In SHTG To Spur Leap In Revenue Growth
• Neutral Sentiment: Trading and technicals: Intraday volume is elevated (~4.9M shares vs. a ~1.5M average), suggesting the market is actively reacting to the news flow; the stock is above its 200‑day moving average (support) but near the 50‑day average—momentum could depend on upcoming clinical/commercial milestones.
• Negative Sentiment: Large, concentrated insider selling: Multiple executives (including CEO Brett P. Monia and several EVPs) sold shares on Jan 16 totaling roughly 117K shares (~$8.8M) — CEO sale (~44K shares, ~$3.3M) and several EVP sales of ~8–13K shares each. These filings can be reviewed in the SEC disclosures, which may signal tax/diversification activity but can also weigh on sentiment.
  Bennett filing
  Birchler filing
  Devers filing
  Hougen filing
  Jenne filing
  Kordasiewicz filing
  Monia (CEO) filing
  O’neil filing
  Schneider filing
  Swayze filings

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Ionis Pharmaceuticals

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. increased its stake in Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 72.5% during the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 652,518 shares of the company’s stock valued at $19,686,000 after purchasing an additional 274,310 shares during the last quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 6.4% in 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 valued at $19,895,000 after buying an additional 39,794 shares during the period. Focus Partners Wealth grew its position 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 valued at $297,000 after buying an additional 2,277 shares during the last quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC raised its stake in Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 151.3% during the second quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 1,872 shares of the company’s stock worth $74,000 after acquiring an additional 1,127 shares during the period. Finally, Wedmont Private Capital acquired a new stake in Ionis Pharmaceuticals during the second quarter worth about $226,000. 93.86% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have commented on IONS. Needham & Company LLC boosted their price objective on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $78.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, October 30th. Oppenheimer lifted their target price on Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $84.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Bank of America increased their price target on Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $86.00 to $97.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 9th. Wall Street Zen lowered Ionis Pharmaceuticals from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, November 1st. 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 given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $87.05.

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.