Insider Selling: Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:IONS) EVP Sells $15,731.20 in Stock

Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:IONS) EVP Richard S. Geary sold 320 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $49.16, for a total value of $15,731.20. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 85,154 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,186,170.64. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink.

Ionis Pharmaceuticals Price Performance

IONS opened at $48.15 on Friday. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $47.99 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $43.99. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.67, a quick ratio of 7.51 and a current ratio of 7.61. The stock has a market capitalization of $7.03 billion, a P/E ratio of -18.03 and a beta of 0.40. Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. has a 52-week low of $35.95 and a 52-week high of $54.44.

Ionis Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:IONS) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 1st. The company reported ($0.45) earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.92) by $0.47. Ionis Pharmaceuticals had a negative net margin of 44.90% and a negative return on equity of 115.66%. The firm had revenue of $225.00 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $152.35 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.60 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 19.7% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts predict that Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. will post -3.69 EPS for the current year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have weighed in on IONS shares. BMO Capital Markets cut Ionis Pharmaceuticals from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and cut their price objective for the company from $67.00 to $60.00 in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. Leerink Partners raised Ionis Pharmaceuticals from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and upped their price target for the stock from $53.00 to $62.00 in a research note on Wednesday, July 24th. Needham & Company LLC reissued a “buy” rating and set a $60.00 price objective on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. Jefferies Financial Group initiated coverage on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Tuesday, July 16th. They set a “buy” rating and a $75.00 price target for the company. Finally, Barclays upped their price objective on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $45.00 to $51.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, August 2nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating, twelve have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $60.68.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Ionis Pharmaceuticals

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Sanctuary Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals in the second quarter worth $784,000. Algert Global LLC boosted its position in Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 149.2% in the second quarter. Algert Global LLC now owns 75,350 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,591,000 after purchasing an additional 45,108 shares during the last quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company grew its stake in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 12.2% during the 2nd quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 274,850 shares of the company’s stock valued at $13,099,000 after purchasing an additional 29,783 shares during the period. Great Point Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals during the 2nd quarter valued at about $15,728,000. Finally, Marshall Wace LLP lifted its stake in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 1,021.5% in the 2nd quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 173,199 shares of the company’s stock worth $8,255,000 after purchasing an additional 157,756 shares during the period. 93.86% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.