Patrick O’neil Sells 10,148 Shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:IONS) Stock

Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:IONS) EVP Patrick O’neil sold 10,148 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $75.25, for a total value of $763,637.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 62,211 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,681,377.75. This trade represents a 14.02% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link.

Ionis Pharmaceuticals Stock Performance

IONS stock opened at $72.34 on Friday. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $80.68 and its 200 day simple moving average is $74.00. Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. has a 12-month low of $23.95 and a 12-month high of $86.74. The firm has a market cap of $11.95 billion, a P/E ratio of -29.65 and a beta of 0.31. The company has a current ratio of 3.83, a quick ratio of 3.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.76.

Ionis Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:IONS) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 25th. The company reported ($1.41) EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($1.23) by ($0.18). Ionis Pharmaceuticals had a negative return on equity of 68.82% and a negative net margin of 40.36%.The business had revenue of $203.33 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $156.07 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned ($0.66) EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 10.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. will post -3.5 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 72.5% in the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 652,518 shares of the company’s stock valued at $19,686,000 after purchasing an additional 274,310 shares during the period. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC boosted its position in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 6.4% during the first quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 659,435 shares of the company’s stock worth $19,895,000 after buying an additional 39,794 shares during the period. Focus Partners Wealth boosted its position in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 30.1% during the first quarter. Focus Partners Wealth now owns 9,832 shares of the company’s stock worth $297,000 after buying an additional 2,277 shares during the period. Atria Investments Inc bought a new position in Ionis Pharmaceuticals in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $323,000. Finally, Savant Capital LLC acquired a new stake in Ionis Pharmaceuticals in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $222,000. 93.86% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Ionis Pharmaceuticals News Summary

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

• Positive Sentiment: Analyst optimism: Several sell‑side firms have raised price targets and kept bullish ratings (Needham raised its target to $103; Wells Fargo to $100; Barclays initiated overweight at $95), which supports upside expectations beyond short‑term noise. Read More.
• Positive Sentiment: Institutional conviction: Large funds materially increased positions last quarter (e.g., Capital World Investors added millions of shares), signaling confidence in Ionis’s pipeline and providing a supportive shareholder base. Read More.
• Neutral Sentiment: Management presentation (Barclays Healthcare Conference): Ionis presented at the Barclays 28th Annual Global Healthcare Conference; the transcript provides pipeline and strategy color but contained no new program‑level data or regulatory announcements to immediately move the stock. Read More.
• Negative Sentiment: Material insider selling — CEO: CEO Brett Monia sold a large block across Mar 9–10 (126,670 shares and 34,103 shares), a combined ~160,773 shares (~$12.1M at ~ $75/share), representing a meaningful reduction in his position. Read More.
• Negative Sentiment: Additional executive selling: EVP Kyle Jenne sold 37,277 shares (~$2.83M) and EVP Patrick R. O’Neil sold 10,148 shares (~$763.6k). The clustered sales by multiple senior execs in the same window increase short‑term selling pressure and investor caution. Read More. Read More.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on IONS shares. Leerink Partners boosted their price objective on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $102.00 to $104.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 3rd. Morgan Stanley set a $95.00 target price on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 25th. Wall Street Zen downgraded Ionis Pharmaceuticals from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Saturday, February 28th. Royal Bank Of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Wednesday, February 25th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals in a report on Thursday, January 22nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have assigned a Buy rating, three have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $89.00.

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.