Ionis Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:IONS) EVP Sells $744,692.12 in Stock

Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:IONS) EVP Elizabeth Hougen sold 10,172 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $73.21, for a total transaction of $744,692.12. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 82,660 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,051,538.60. This trade represents a 10.96% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link.

Ionis Pharmaceuticals Price Performance

Ionis Pharmaceuticals stock traded down $0.66 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $71.67. 2,180,298 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,331,160. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $80.20 and a two-hundred day moving average of $75.07. The company has a market cap of $11.84 billion, a P/E ratio of -29.37 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, Inc. has a twelve month low of $23.95 and a twelve month high of $86.74.

Ionis Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:IONS) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 25th. The company reported ($1.41) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate 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 firm had revenue of $203.33 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $156.07 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted ($0.66) EPS. The business’s revenue was down 10.6% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts expect that Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. will post -3.5 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts recently issued reports on IONS shares. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $82.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, January 5th. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price target on Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $73.00 to $77.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 26th. Bank of America lifted their price objective on Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $86.00 to $97.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 9th. Needham & Company LLC upped their target price on Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $90.00 to $103.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 25th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Wednesday, February 25th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have issued a Buy rating, three have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Ionis Pharmaceuticals presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $89.00.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in IONS. Stanley Laman Group Ltd. acquired a new stake in Ionis Pharmaceuticals during the third quarter worth approximately $2,340,000. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA lifted its stake in Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 66.1% in the third quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 862,593 shares of the company’s stock valued at $56,431,000 after buying an additional 343,409 shares during the period. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $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 worth $20,430,000 after buying an additional 294,643 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Dynasty Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $938,000. 93.86% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.