Brett P. Monia Sells 33,445 Shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:IONS) Stock

Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:IONS) CEO Brett P. Monia sold 33,445 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $32.63, for a total transaction of $1,091,310.35. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 207,396 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,767,331.48. The trade was a 13.89 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website.

Ionis Pharmaceuticals Stock Down 2.6 %

NASDAQ IONS traded down $0.85 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $31.43. 1,371,506 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,525,691. Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. has a 52 week low of $31.40 and a 52 week high of $52.49. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $35.63 and its 200-day simple moving average is $41.17. The company has a market cap of $4.96 billion, a PE ratio of -12.88 and a beta of 0.35. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.86, a current ratio of 8.91 and a quick ratio of 8.82.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its holdings in Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 83.9% in the third quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 664 shares of the company’s stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 303 shares during the last quarter. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. purchased a new position in Ionis Pharmaceuticals during the 2nd quarter worth $37,000. Capital Performance Advisors LLP acquired a new position in Ionis Pharmaceuticals during the 3rd quarter valued at about $40,000. Prospera Private Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in Ionis Pharmaceuticals in the third quarter valued at about $42,000. Finally, Quantbot Technologies LP acquired a new stake in Ionis Pharmaceuticals in the third quarter worth about $51,000. Institutional investors own 93.86% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have commented on IONS. William Blair reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals in a report on Friday, December 20th. Piper Sandler reduced their price objective on Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $65.00 to $62.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, November 14th. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $70.00 target price on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Wednesday. Needham & Company LLC restated a “buy” rating and issued a $60.00 price target on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Friday, December 20th. Finally, Guggenheim decreased their price objective on Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $70.00 to $65.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, October 9th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating, twelve have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Ionis Pharmaceuticals currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $60.65.

Ionis Pharmaceuticals Company Profile

Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc discovers and develops RNA-targeted therapeutics in the United States. The company offers SPINRAZA for spinal muscular atrophy (SMA) in pediatric and adult patients; TEGSEDI, an antisense injection for the treatment of polyneuropathy caused by hereditary transthyretin amyloidosis in adults; and WAYLIVRA, an antisense medicine for treatment for familial chylomicronemia syndrome (FCS) and familial partial lipodystrophy.