Ionis Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:IONS) Sets New 1-Year Low – Here’s What Happened

Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:IONS) shares hit a new 52-week low during mid-day trading on Tuesday. The stock traded as low as $42.39 and last traded at $42.6850, with a volume of 681,168 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $43.67.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have commented on IONS. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $100.00 to $95.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, July 30th. Wolfe Research reissued a “peer perform” rating on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Thursday, July 16th. Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective on Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $110.00 to $104.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, September 8th. Leerink Partners lifted their price objective on Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $122.00 to $129.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, June 25th. Finally, Raymond James Financial reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $84.00 price objective on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Tuesday, September 8th. Seventeen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $89.20.

Ionis Pharmaceuticals Trading Down 2.5%

The business’s fifty day moving average is $52.72 and its 200-day moving average is $65.03. The stock has a market capitalization of $7.07 billion, a PE ratio of -12.29 and a beta of 0.38. The company has a quick ratio of 7.73, a current ratio of 7.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.07.

Insider Buying and Selling at Ionis Pharmaceuticals

In related news, Director Michael Hayden purchased 15,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, July 30th. The shares were bought at an average price of $53.38 per share, for a total transaction of $800,700.00. Following the acquisition, the director directly owned 19,000 shares in the company, valued at $1,014,220. This trade represents a 375.00% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 1.81% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Baker BROS. Advisors LP raised its position in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 216.1% in the 4th quarter. Baker BROS. Advisors LP now owns 1,791,841 shares of the company’s stock worth $141,753,000 after buying an additional 1,225,043 shares during the period. Alyeska Investment Group L.P. grew its position in Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 199.7% during the second quarter. Alyeska Investment Group L.P. now owns 1,417,916 shares of the company’s stock valued at $112,427,000 after acquiring an additional 944,766 shares during the period. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA grew its position in Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 1.2% during the first quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA now owns 1,434,995 shares of the company’s stock valued at $107,077,000 after acquiring an additional 16,504 shares during the period. Polar Capital Holdings Plc increased its stake in Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 29.0% during the fourth quarter. Polar Capital Holdings Plc now owns 1,333,424 shares of the company’s stock worth $105,487,000 after acquiring an additional 299,802 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE acquired a new stake in Ionis Pharmaceuticals during the second quarter worth about $62,718,000. 93.86% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Ionis Pharmaceuticals Company Profile

Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc is a biotechnology company focused on discovering and developing RNA-targeted medicines. The company’s antisense technology is designed to selectively bind to RNA and modify the production of disease-associated proteins. Its research programs address neurological, cardiovascular, metabolic and other serious diseases.

Ionis has developed medicines both independently and through collaborations with larger pharmaceutical companies. Its products and partnered therapies have included treatments for spinal muscular atrophy, hereditary transthyretin-mediated amyloidosis, familial chylomicronemia syndrome and transthyretin amyloidosis with cardiomyopathy or polyneuropathy.