Ionis Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:IONS) EVP Sells $581,681.12 in Stock

Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:IONS) EVP Elizabeth Hougen sold 6,988 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, January 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $83.24, for a total transaction of $581,681.12. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 132,881 shares in the company, valued at $11,061,014.44. This represents a 5.00% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website.

Ionis Pharmaceuticals Trading Up 0.5%

Ionis Pharmaceuticals stock opened at $84.99 on Thursday. Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. has a one year low of $23.95 and a one year high of $86.15. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $80.46 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $67.26. The company has a market capitalization of $13.77 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -50.29 and a beta of 0.29. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.96, a current ratio of 2.79 and a quick ratio of 2.78.

Institutional Trading of Ionis Pharmaceuticals

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in IONS. Steigerwald Gordon & Koch Inc. bought a new position in Ionis Pharmaceuticals during the third quarter worth about $25,000. Golden State Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 198.4% during the 3rd quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC now owns 376 shares of the company’s stock worth $25,000 after buying an additional 250 shares during the period. Mather Group LLC. acquired a new stake in Ionis Pharmaceuticals in the 3rd quarter valued at $27,000. Allworth Financial LP grew its position in Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 231.8% in the second quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 740 shares of the company’s stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 517 shares during the period. Finally, Quarry LP bought a new position in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals during the third quarter valued at $38,000. 93.86% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts recently issued reports on IONS shares. Royal Bank Of Canada upped their price objective on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $82.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 17th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised Ionis Pharmaceuticals from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and raised their price target for the company from $49.00 to $80.00 in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. TD Cowen restated a “buy” rating on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Wednesday, December 3rd. HC Wainwright raised their target price on Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $100.00 to $110.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, November 10th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reiterated a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals in a report on Thursday, January 22nd. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have issued a Buy rating, three have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Ionis Pharmaceuticals currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $86.45.

Ionis Pharmaceuticals Company Profile

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.