Ionis Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:IONS) Director Acquires 5,000 Shares of Stock

Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:IONS) Director Michael Hayden bought 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, July 31st. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $51.60 per share, with a total value of $258,000.00. Following the purchase, the director directly owned 24,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,238,400. This represents a 26.32% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link.

Ionis Pharmaceuticals Trading Down 2.8%

Shares of NASDAQ IONS traded down $1.51 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $51.77. 2,564,124 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,436,866. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $70.03 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $74.73. The company has a market capitalization of $8.56 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -14.96 and a beta of 0.36. Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. has a 12 month low of $40.03 and a 12 month high of $86.74. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.75, a current ratio of 4.10 and a quick ratio of 4.09.

Ionis Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:IONS) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The company reported ($0.56) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.85) by $0.29. Ionis Pharmaceuticals had a negative net margin of 64.76% and a negative return on equity of 106.23%. The company had revenue of $246.09 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $195.56 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned ($0.93) EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 86.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. will post -3.71 EPS for the current year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Ionis Pharmaceuticals

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in IONS. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. bought a new position in Ionis Pharmaceuticals during the 4th quarter worth about $27,000. Cassaday & Co Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals during the first quarter worth about $30,000. Quarry LP acquired a new position in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals during the third quarter worth about $38,000. Hilton Head Capital Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals during the fourth quarter worth about $47,000. Finally, Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals during the fourth quarter worth about $47,000. 93.86% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have issued reports on IONS shares. The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $69.00 target price on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Wednesday. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $100.00 to $95.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Friday, July 17th. Raymond James Financial set a $87.00 price objective on Ionis Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Thursday, July 9th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lowered their target price on Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $130.00 to $110.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, July 10th. Eighteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Ionis Pharmaceuticals presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $94.85.

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.