Ionis Pharmaceuticals Target of Unusually High Options Trading (NASDAQ:IONS)

Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:IONS) saw unusually large options trading on Wednesday. Traders purchased 7,229 call options on the stock. This is an increase of 423% compared to the average volume of 1,381 call options.

Ionis Pharmaceuticals Stock Down 2.6%

Shares of IONS stock traded down $2.25 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $84.08. 527,450 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,070,098. The company has a quick ratio of 4.09, a current ratio of 4.10 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.75. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $76.02 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $77.47. Ionis Pharmaceuticals has a 12-month low of $40.03 and a 12-month high of $86.74. The stock has a market cap of $13.90 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -40.62 and a beta of 0.36.

Ionis Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:IONS) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 29th. The company reported ($0.56) earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.85) by $0.29. The company had revenue of $246.09 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates 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 for the quarter was up 86.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned ($0.93) EPS. On average, analysts expect that Ionis Pharmaceuticals will post -3.69 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO Brett P. Monia sold 50,000 shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $80.59, for a total value of $4,029,500.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 245,571 shares in the company, valued at approximately $19,790,566.89. This trade represents a 16.92% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, EVP Patrick R. O’neil sold 3,069 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $80.00, for a total value of $245,520.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 61,470 shares in the company, valued at $4,917,600. This trade represents a 4.76% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders sold 213,029 shares of company stock valued at $16,500,601 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 1.81% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. grew its holdings in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 21.5% during the second quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 40,927 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,245,000 after buying an additional 7,254 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its position in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 22.8% during the second quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 2,168 shares of the company’s stock valued at $172,000 after buying an additional 402 shares during the last quarter. Harbor Investment Advisory LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals during the second quarter valued at $112,000. Empowered Funds LLC increased its holdings in Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 318.1% in the 1st quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 103,141 shares of the company’s stock worth $7,745,000 after buying an additional 78,470 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Carmignac Gestion purchased a new position in Ionis Pharmaceuticals in the 1st quarter worth about $3,980,000. 93.86% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

IONS has been the topic of a number of research reports. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Tuesday, April 21st. Needham & Company LLC lifted their price objective on Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $103.00 to $105.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 25th. Leerink Partners upped their target price on Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $122.00 to $129.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, June 25th. Wall Street Zen raised Ionis Pharmaceuticals from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, May 2nd. Finally, Raymond James Financial initiated coverage on Ionis Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Friday, April 10th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $104.00 price target on the stock. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have issued a Buy rating, two have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Ionis Pharmaceuticals presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $102.90.

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.