Ionis Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:IONS) EVP Patrick O’neil Sells 9,191 Shares

Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:IONS) EVP Patrick O’neil sold 9,191 shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $75.84, for a total value of $697,045.44. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 66,171 shares in the company, valued at $5,018,408.64. This represents a 12.20% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink.

Ionis Pharmaceuticals Price Performance

IONS stock opened at $77.53 on Wednesday. Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. has a one year low of $23.95 and a one year high of $86.15. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $78.90 and a two-hundred day moving average of $64.33. The firm has a market capitalization of $12.56 billion, a PE ratio of -45.88 and a beta of 0.28. The company has a current ratio of 2.79, a quick ratio of 2.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.96.

Ionis Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:IONS) last released 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. Ionis Pharmaceuticals had a negative net margin of 26.45% and a negative return on equity of 44.26%. The business had revenue of $156.72 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $131.75 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned ($0.95) earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 17.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts forecast that Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. will post -3.5 earnings per share for the current year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

IONS has been the subject of a number of research reports. TD Cowen raised their price objective on Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $59.00 to $99.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 30th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $82.00 to $100.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, January 5th. Royal Bank Of Canada increased their target price on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $82.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 17th. Raymond James Financial reissued a “strong-buy” rating and set a $89.00 target price (up previously from $85.00) on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Thursday, October 30th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. One 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 given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $87.05.

Key Ionis Pharmaceuticals News

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

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Ionis Pharmaceuticals

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in IONS. J. Safra Sarasin Holding AG bought a new stake in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals in the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,377,000. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC increased its position in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 16.7% during the fourth quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 21,094 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,669,000 after purchasing an additional 3,024 shares during the period. Norden Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals in the fourth quarter valued at $232,000. DAVENPORT & Co LLC lifted its position in Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 248.3% in the fourth quarter. DAVENPORT & Co LLC now owns 217,897 shares of the company’s stock worth $17,238,000 after purchasing an additional 155,334 shares during the period. Finally, Avanza Fonder AB acquired a new stake in Ionis Pharmaceuticals during the fourth quarter worth $284,000. 93.86% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.