Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:IONS) EVP Sells $39,046.45 in Stock

Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:IONS) EVP Patrick R. O’neil sold 1,207 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $32.35, for a total transaction of $39,046.45. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 56,245 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,819,525.75. This trade represents a 2.10 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website.

Ionis Pharmaceuticals Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ IONS opened at $31.85 on Wednesday. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $33.41 and its 200-day moving average price is $38.03. Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. has a 1-year low of $30.23 and a 1-year high of $52.34. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.06 billion, a P/E ratio of -10.48 and a beta of 0.34. The company has a current ratio of 8.47, a quick ratio of 8.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.12.

Ionis Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:IONS) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 19th. The company reported ($0.66) earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($1.12) by $0.46. Ionis Pharmaceuticals had a negative net margin of 64.25% and a negative return on equity of 100.05%. The firm had revenue of $227.00 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $140.97 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.12 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 30.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts anticipate that Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. will post -3.5 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Ionis Pharmaceuticals

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Signaturefd LLC raised its holdings in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 160.0% during the fourth quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 949 shares of the company’s stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 584 shares during the period. Huntington National Bank raised its holdings in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 193.5% during the fourth quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 951 shares of the company’s stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 627 shares during the period. Capital Performance Advisors LLP acquired a new position in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals during the third quarter valued at about $40,000. Lindbrook Capital LLC raised its holdings in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 183.8% in the 4th quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC now owns 1,036 shares of the company’s stock worth $36,000 after acquiring an additional 671 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Prospera Private Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals in the 3rd quarter worth about $42,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.86% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on IONS. Citigroup lowered their price target on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $67.00 to $64.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, February 20th. William Blair reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Friday, December 20th. BMO Capital Markets reduced their price objective on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $60.00 to $45.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, February 20th. Needham & Company LLC reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $60.00 price objective on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Thursday, February 20th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $82.00 to $77.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, November 7th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating, thirteen have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $60.00.

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.