Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:IONS) EVP Patrick R. O’neil Sells 1,207 Shares

Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:IONS) EVP Patrick R. O’neil sold 1,207 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, 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 legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website.

Ionis Pharmaceuticals Price Performance

Shares of IONS traded down $0.43 during trading hours on Monday, reaching $31.89. The stock had a trading volume of 1,430,336 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,682,475. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.12, a quick ratio of 8.82 and a current ratio of 8.47. Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. has a 12 month low of $30.23 and a 12 month high of $52.34. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.07 billion, a PE ratio of -10.49 and a beta of 0.34. The company’s 50-day moving average is $33.65 and its two-hundred day moving average is $38.24.

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on IONS shares. StockNews.com cut Ionis Pharmaceuticals from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 12th. Piper Sandler dropped their target price on Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $65.00 to $62.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, November 14th. BMO Capital Markets decreased their price target 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. Citigroup lowered their price target on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $67.00 to $64.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday. Finally, William Blair reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals in a report on Friday, December 20th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating, thirteen have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Ionis Pharmaceuticals presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $60.00.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Ionis Pharmaceuticals

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in IONS. GF Fund Management CO. LTD. acquired a new position in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals during the fourth quarter worth $116,000. Woodline Partners LP bought a new position in Ionis Pharmaceuticals during the 4th quarter worth $3,762,000. Vestal Point Capital LP acquired a new position in Ionis Pharmaceuticals during the 4th quarter worth about $20,801,000. Two Sigma Advisers LP grew its position in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 1.3% in the 4th quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP now owns 1,349,211 shares of the company’s stock valued at $47,168,000 after buying an additional 16,800 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Two Sigma Investments LP increased its stake in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 0.3% in the fourth quarter. Two Sigma Investments LP now owns 921,439 shares of the company’s stock valued at $32,214,000 after buying an additional 2,362 shares during the period. 93.86% of the stock is currently 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.