Short Interest in Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:IONS) Declines By 5.4%

Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:IONS) saw a large decline in short interest during the month of November. As of November 30th, there was short interest totalling 10,450,000 shares, a decline of 5.4% from the November 15th total of 11,050,000 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 1,700,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 6.1 days. Approximately 7.2% of the shares of the stock are short sold.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $70.00 price target on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Thursday, September 26th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $50.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, August 26th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $82.00 to $77.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, November 7th. StockNews.com downgraded Ionis Pharmaceuticals from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 12th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC restated a “buy” rating and issued a $60.00 target price on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals in a report on Thursday, November 7th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating, twelve have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $60.65.

Ionis Pharmaceuticals Stock Down 3.8 %

Ionis Pharmaceuticals stock opened at $36.25 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $5.72 billion, a PE ratio of -14.86 and a beta of 0.35. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.86, a quick ratio of 8.82 and a current ratio of 8.91. Ionis Pharmaceuticals has a fifty-two week low of $33.33 and a fifty-two week high of $54.44. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $37.52 and a 200 day moving average price of $42.37.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO Brett P. Monia sold 6,630 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $38.05, for a total value of $252,271.50. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 167,393 shares in the company, valued at $6,369,303.65. This trade represents a 3.81 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Eric Swayze sold 1,194 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $37.92, for a total value of $45,276.48. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 33,713 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,278,396.96. The trade was a 3.42 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 7,877 shares of company stock worth $299,578. Insiders own 2.71% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Ionis Pharmaceuticals

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of IONS. Great Point Partners LLC acquired a new position in Ionis Pharmaceuticals during the 2nd quarter worth about $15,728,000. International Assets Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 3,287.0% in the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 328,772 shares of the company’s stock valued at $13,171,000 after purchasing an additional 319,065 shares during the period. Logos Global Management LP acquired a new position in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals in the second quarter valued at approximately $14,298,000. Baker BROS. Advisors LP purchased a new stake in Ionis Pharmaceuticals during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $8,952,000. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its position in Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 7.4% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,668,358 shares of the company’s stock valued at $106,922,000 after buying an additional 183,814 shares during the period. 93.86% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Ionis Pharmaceuticals

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.