Brett P. Monia Sells 33,445 Shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:IONS) Stock

Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:IONS) CEO Brett P. Monia sold 33,445 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $32.63, for a total transaction of $1,091,310.35. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 207,396 shares in the company, valued at $6,767,331.48. This trade represents a 13.89 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website.

Ionis Pharmaceuticals Stock Down 2.6 %

NASDAQ:IONS opened at $31.43 on Monday. 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, Inc. has a 52-week low of $31.40 and a 52-week high of $52.49. The company has a market cap of $4.96 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -12.88 and a beta of 0.35. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $35.63 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $41.11.

Institutional Trading of Ionis Pharmaceuticals

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its stake in Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 83.9% in the third quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 664 shares of the company’s stock valued at $27,000 after buying an additional 303 shares during the period. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. acquired a new stake in Ionis Pharmaceuticals during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $37,000. Capital Performance Advisors LLP bought a new stake in Ionis Pharmaceuticals in the 3rd quarter valued at $40,000. Prospera Private Wealth LLC acquired a new position in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals during the third quarter worth about $42,000. Finally, Quantbot Technologies LP bought a new stake in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals in the third quarter worth $51,000. 93.86% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts recently commented on the company. StockNews.com cut Ionis Pharmaceuticals from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 12th. William Blair reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Friday, December 20th. Guggenheim reduced their price target on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $70.00 to $65.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, October 9th. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $70.00 price objective on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Wednesday, January 15th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $60.00 target price on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Friday, December 20th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating, twelve have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $60.65.

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.