Ionis Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:IONS) Reaches New 52-Week Low – Should You Sell?

Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:IONS) shares hit a new 52-week low on Monday. The company traded as low as $32.01 and last traded at $31.7520, with a volume of 477,866 shares. The stock had previously closed at $39.42.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages recently commented on IONS. Citigroup restated a “buy” rating on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Wednesday, October 21st. Royal Bank Of Canada lowered their price objective on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $100.00 to $85.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, July 13th. HC Wainwright reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Thursday, October 22nd. BMO Capital Markets raised shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and boosted their target price for the company from $54.00 to $66.00 in a research note on Thursday, October 22nd. Finally, Guggenheim reduced their target price on Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $89.00 to $80.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, September 15th. Nineteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Ionis Pharmaceuticals has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $89.48.

Ionis Pharmaceuticals Stock Down 26.6%

The company has a market cap of $4.81 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -8.17 and a beta of 0.43. The company has a current ratio of 7.89, a quick ratio of 7.73 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.07. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $46.80 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $65.88.

Ionis Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:IONS) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, November 9th. The company reported ($0.66) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of ($1.22) by $0.56. The business had revenue of $242.72 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $181.57 million. Ionis Pharmaceuticals had a negative net margin of 64.76% and a negative return on equity of 111.08%. The firm’s revenue was up 54.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned ($0.80) earnings per share. On average, equities analysts predict that Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. will post -3.62 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Ionis Pharmaceuticals news, EVP Shannon Devers sold 1,357 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, October 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $43.54, for a total value of $59,083.78. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 17,811 shares in the company, valued at approximately $775,490.94. This represents a 7.08% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Insiders own 1.81% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of IONS. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in Ionis Pharmaceuticals during the third quarter valued at about $27,000. Cassaday & Co Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals in the first quarter worth about $30,000. Root Financial Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals in the third quarter worth about $30,000. Fortitude Family Office LLC boosted its stake in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 4,411.8% during the 3rd quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC now owns 767 shares of the company’s stock worth $34,000 after acquiring an additional 750 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Allworth Financial LP bought a new stake in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals during the 2nd quarter worth about $41,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.86% of the company’s stock.

Ionis Pharmaceuticals Company Profile

Ionis Pharmaceuticals is a biotechnology company that discovers and develops RNA-targeted medicines, with a focus on antisense oligonucleotides. Its medicines are designed to act on RNA and change the production of proteins linked to disease. The company’s research and development programs span neurological, cardiovascular, metabolic and rare diseases.

Ionis has developed medicines that it commercializes itself and products advanced or marketed with pharmaceutical partners. Its medicines and partnered products include treatments for conditions such as spinal muscular atrophy and transthyretin amyloidosis.