Ionis Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:IONS) Director Allene Diaz Sells 10,111 Shares of Stock

Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:IONS) Director Allene Diaz sold 10,111 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $85.42, for a total value of $863,681.62. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 3,811 shares in the company, valued at approximately $325,535.62. The trade was a 72.63% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan.

Ionis Pharmaceuticals Stock Down 23.9%

Shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals stock opened at $64.27 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $10.62 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -31.05 and a beta of 0.36. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $76.12 and a 200-day simple moving average of $77.41. Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. has a 52-week low of $40.03 and a 52-week high of $86.74. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.75, a current ratio of 4.10 and a quick ratio of 4.09.

Ionis Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:IONS) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 29th. The company reported ($0.56) EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.85) by $0.29. The firm had revenue of $246.09 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $195.56 million. Ionis Pharmaceuticals had a negative return on equity of 58.65% and a negative net margin of 30.91%.The firm’s revenue was up 86.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted ($0.93) earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts expect that Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. will post -3.69 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Ionis Pharmaceuticals

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Grandfield & Dodd LLC lifted its position in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 0.4% during the 4th quarter. Grandfield & Dodd LLC now owns 37,821 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,992,000 after purchasing an additional 146 shares during the last quarter. Checchi Capital Advisers LLC grew its holdings in Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 3.7% in the 1st quarter. Checchi Capital Advisers LLC now owns 4,429 shares of the company’s stock valued at $333,000 after buying an additional 157 shares during the last quarter. Wedmont Private Capital grew its holdings in Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 3.2% in the 4th quarter. Wedmont Private Capital now owns 5,536 shares of the company’s stock valued at $460,000 after buying an additional 173 shares during the last quarter. Prospera Financial Services Inc increased its position in Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 3.9% in the 4th quarter. Prospera Financial Services Inc now owns 4,759 shares of the company’s stock worth $376,000 after buying an additional 178 shares during the period. Finally, MetLife Investment Management LLC increased its position in Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 2.6% in the 4th quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC now owns 9,674 shares of the company’s stock worth $765,000 after buying an additional 246 shares during the period. 93.86% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group reduced their price objective on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $113.00 to $90.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday. Bank of America increased their target price on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $100.00 to $111.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 9th. Citigroup started coverage on Ionis Pharmaceuticals in a report on Monday, May 18th. They set a “buy” rating and a $115.00 target price on the stock. Leerink Partners boosted their price target on Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $122.00 to $129.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, June 25th. Finally, HC Wainwright upped their price target on Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $125.00 to $130.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, June 25th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have given a Buy rating, two have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $100.80.

Key Ionis Pharmaceuticals News

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

• Negative Sentiment: Ionis and AstraZeneca said the Phase 3 CARDIO-TTRansform trial for eplontersen in ATTR-CM did not meet its primary endpoint, a key clinical and commercial setback for the program. Article Title
• Negative Sentiment: Reuters reported that AstraZeneca-Ionis’ Wainua failed to meet the main goal of reducing cardiovascular deaths and recurring heart problems in the late-stage study, reinforcing concerns about the franchise. Article Title
• Negative Sentiment: Shares saw unusually large put-buying, suggesting some traders are positioning for further downside after the trial disappointment.
• Negative Sentiment: Two insiders disclosed stock sales under pre-arranged 10b5-1 plans, including Director Allene M. Diaz and EVP Holly B. Kordasiewicz, which may add to near-term investor caution.
• Neutral Sentiment: Needham lowered its price target to $86 from $105 but reiterated a Buy rating, indicating continued optimism despite the reduced valuation outlook. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: Some coverage notes that investors are debating whether the selloff creates a buying opportunity, but this is sentiment-driven rather than a fundamental catalyst. Article Title

About Ionis Pharmaceuticals

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.