Insider Buying: Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:IONS) Director Purchases 5,000 Shares of Stock

Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:IONS) Director Michael R. Hayden acquired 5,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 23rd. The shares were bought at an average price of $36.22 per share, for a total transaction of $181,100.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now owns 35,219 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,275,632.18. This represents a 16.55 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink.

Ionis Pharmaceuticals Stock Down 0.5 %

Ionis Pharmaceuticals stock traded down $0.20 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $36.33. The company had a trading volume of 1,005,815 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,352,247. Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $33.33 and a fifty-two week high of $54.44. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.86, a current ratio of 8.91 and a quick ratio of 8.82. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.74 billion, a P/E ratio of -14.89 and a beta of 0.35. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $37.21 and its 200-day moving average is $42.16.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have commented on IONS. William Blair restated an “outperform” rating on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Friday, December 20th. Guggenheim dropped their target price on Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $70.00 to $65.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, October 9th. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $70.00 price target on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Thursday, September 26th. StockNews.com downgraded Ionis Pharmaceuticals from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 12th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $82.00 to $77.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, November 7th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating, twelve have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Ionis Pharmaceuticals has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $60.65.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Ionis Pharmaceuticals

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. nVerses Capital LLC acquired a new stake in Ionis Pharmaceuticals during the second quarter valued at $29,000. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 83.9% during the 3rd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 664 shares of the company’s stock valued at $27,000 after buying an additional 303 shares during the last quarter. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. bought a new stake in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $37,000. Capital Performance Advisors LLP acquired a new position in Ionis Pharmaceuticals in the third quarter worth approximately $40,000. Finally, Prospera Private Wealth LLC bought a new position in Ionis Pharmaceuticals during the third quarter valued at approximately $42,000. 93.86% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Ionis Pharmaceuticals

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.