Ionis Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:IONS) Shares Up 7% – Time to Buy?

Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:IONS) shares rose 7% on Thursday . The stock traded as high as $34.54 and last traded at $34.77. Approximately 1,024,178 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 29% from the average daily volume of 1,450,947 shares. The stock had previously closed at $32.50.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

IONS has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $60.00 price objective on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Friday, December 20th. StockNews.com cut shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 12th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $82.00 to $77.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, November 7th. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $70.00 price objective on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Wednesday, January 15th. Finally, William Blair reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Friday, December 20th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating, twelve have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $60.65.

Ionis Pharmaceuticals Price Performance

The stock has a market capitalization of $5.44 billion, a P/E ratio of -14.12 and a beta of 0.35. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $35.28 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $40.86. The company has a quick ratio of 8.82, a current ratio of 8.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.86.

Insider Buying and Selling at Ionis Pharmaceuticals

In related news, EVP Eric Swayze sold 1,194 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $37.92, for a total transaction of $45,276.48. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 33,713 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,278,396.96. This trade represents a 3.42 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Brett P. Monia sold 33,445 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $32.63, for a total transaction of $1,091,310.35. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 207,396 shares in the company, valued at $6,767,331.48. The trade was a 13.89 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 57,293 shares of company stock valued at $1,914,820. Corporate insiders own 2.71% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Ionis Pharmaceuticals

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in IONS. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its holdings in Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 83.9% during the third quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 664 shares of the company’s stock worth $27,000 after buying an additional 303 shares during the last quarter. Capital Performance Advisors LLP purchased a new stake in Ionis Pharmaceuticals during the third quarter worth about $40,000. Prospera Private Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in Ionis Pharmaceuticals during the third quarter worth about $42,000. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. increased its holdings in Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 40.9% during the third quarter. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. now owns 1,081 shares of the company’s stock worth $43,000 after buying an additional 314 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Quantbot Technologies LP purchased a new stake in Ionis Pharmaceuticals during the third quarter worth about $51,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.86% of the company’s stock.

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.