Ionis Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:IONS) EVP Sells $697,045.44 in Stock

Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:IONS) EVP Patrick O’neil sold 9,191 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $75.84, for a total value of $697,045.44. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 66,171 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,018,408.64. The trade was a 12.20% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link.

Ionis Pharmaceuticals Stock Up 1.6%

NASDAQ:IONS traded up $1.20 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $77.53. 4,894,343 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,492,706. The stock has a market cap of $12.56 billion, a PE ratio of -45.88 and a beta of 0.28. Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. has a twelve month low of $23.95 and a twelve month high of $86.15. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $78.90 and a 200 day moving average of $64.33. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.96, a current ratio of 2.79 and a quick ratio of 2.78.

Ionis Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:IONS) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 29th. The company reported ($0.80) EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of ($1.15) by $0.35. The business had revenue of $156.72 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $131.75 million. Ionis Pharmaceuticals had a negative net margin of 26.45% and a negative return on equity of 44.26%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 17.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted ($0.95) earnings per share. On average, equities analysts expect that Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. will post -3.5 earnings per share for the current year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Ionis Pharmaceuticals

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Castle Rock Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Ionis Pharmaceuticals in the second quarter valued at approximately $215,000. Stanley Laman Group Ltd. bought a new position in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals in the 3rd quarter valued at $2,340,000. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals in the 2nd quarter valued at $17,790,000. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. boosted its holdings in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 1,669.0% during the 3rd quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 312,297 shares of the company’s stock valued at $20,430,000 after acquiring an additional 294,643 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Capricorn Fund Managers Ltd bought a new stake in Ionis Pharmaceuticals during the 3rd quarter worth $10,650,000. 93.86% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Key Stories Impacting Ionis Pharmaceuticals

Here are the key news stories impacting Ionis Pharmaceuticals this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Analyst / media bullishness on olezarsen: A recent Seeking Alpha piece highlights an expected 2026 launch of olezarsen in SHTG and argues that approval/commercial rollout could drive a substantial revenue inflection for Ionis; the article notes strong recent momentum and positions olezarsen as the key upside catalyst. Ionis: Expected 2026 Launch Of Olezarsen In SHTG To Spur Leap In Revenue Growth
• Neutral Sentiment: Trading and technicals: Intraday volume is elevated (~4.9M shares vs. a ~1.5M average), suggesting the market is actively reacting to the news flow; the stock is above its 200‑day moving average (support) but near the 50‑day average—momentum could depend on upcoming clinical/commercial milestones.
• Negative Sentiment: Large, concentrated insider selling: Multiple executives (including CEO Brett P. Monia and several EVPs) sold shares on Jan 16 totaling roughly 117K shares (~$8.8M) — CEO sale (~44K shares, ~$3.3M) and several EVP sales of ~8–13K shares each. These filings can be reviewed in the SEC disclosures, which may signal tax/diversification activity but can also weigh on sentiment.
  Bennett filing
  Birchler filing
  Devers filing
  Hougen filing
  Jenne filing
  Kordasiewicz filing
  Monia (CEO) filing
  O’neil filing
  Schneider filing
  Swayze filings

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts recently issued reports on IONS shares. TD Cowen upped their target price on Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $59.00 to $99.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, October 30th. Leerink Partners increased their price objective on Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $85.00 to $100.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, December 15th. Needham & Company LLC boosted their target price on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $78.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, October 30th. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price target on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $43.00 to $67.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, October 6th. Finally, Raymond James Financial reissued a “strong-buy” rating and issued a $89.00 price objective (up previously from $85.00) on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Thursday, October 30th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seventeen have issued a Buy rating, three have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $87.05.

Ionis Pharmaceuticals Company Profile

Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc is a biotechnology company focused on the discovery and development of RNA-targeted therapies designed to modulate gene expression. The company’s proprietary antisense oligonucleotide (ASO) technology enables the selective binding of short synthetic strands of nucleic acids to messenger RNA (mRNA), thereby inhibiting or altering the production of disease-causing proteins. Ionis’ pipeline spans a range of therapeutic areas, including neurological disorders, cardiovascular conditions, metabolic diseases and rare genetic disorders.

Since its founding in 1989 by Dr.