Ionis Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:IONS) EVP Shannon Devers Sells 20,106 Shares of Stock

Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:IONS) EVP Shannon Devers sold 20,106 shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $79.40, for a total transaction of $1,596,416.40. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 22,541 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,789,755.40. This represents a 47.15% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink.

Ionis Pharmaceuticals Stock Performance

Shares of IONS traded down $1.10 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $74.06. The stock had a trading volume of 370,433 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,268,973. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $81.18 and a 200-day moving average price of $72.91. Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. has a 52 week low of $23.95 and a 52 week high of $86.74. The firm has a market cap of $12.23 billion, a P/E ratio of -30.35 and a beta of 0.31. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.76, a current ratio of 3.83 and a quick ratio of 3.81.

Ionis Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:IONS) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 25th. The company reported ($1.41) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($1.23) by ($0.18). Ionis Pharmaceuticals had a negative return on equity of 68.82% and a negative net margin of 40.36%.The firm had revenue of $203.00 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $156.07 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted ($0.66) earnings per share. Ionis Pharmaceuticals’s revenue for the quarter was down 10.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts expect that Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. will post -3.5 EPS for the current year.

Ionis Pharmaceuticals News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting Ionis Pharmaceuticals this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Analyst upgrades and higher targets lift sentiment — several brokerages (including Leerink/Leerink Partners and H.C. Wainwright) have raised price targets and issued buy/outperform ratings in recent days, supporting medium-term upside expectations. Leerink Raises PT
• Positive Sentiment: An analyst raised Q1 EPS estimates, which reduces short-term earnings uncertainty and may underpin multiple expansion if confirmed. Q1 EPS Estimate Boosted
• Neutral Sentiment: Competitive data from peers: Biogen announced new SMA data presentations this week — positive readouts for competitors can influence the market for SMA therapeutics and create mixed implications for Ionis’s pipeline progress. Biogen SMA Data
• Negative Sentiment: Large insider selling by multiple senior insiders is weighing on the stock; EVP C. Frank Bennett sold 85,089 shares (~$6.74M), Director Allene Diaz sold 54,878 shares (~$4.35M), and EVP Shannon Devers sold 20,106 shares — each materially reduced their positions, which market participants often view as a negative signal even when filings show no other context. Insider Sales
• Negative Sentiment: Fundamental headwinds remain: recent quarterly results showed an EPS miss despite revenue beating estimates and year-over-year revenue decline; the company still projects negative earnings for the year, keeping profitability concerns in focus. Recent Earnings Recap

Institutional Trading of Ionis Pharmaceuticals

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in IONS. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. lifted its position in Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 72.5% during the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 652,518 shares of the company’s stock worth $19,686,000 after acquiring an additional 274,310 shares during the period. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC raised its stake in Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 6.4% in the 1st quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 659,435 shares of the company’s stock valued at $19,895,000 after purchasing an additional 39,794 shares during the last quarter. Focus Partners Wealth lifted its stake in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 30.1% during the first quarter. Focus Partners Wealth now owns 9,832 shares of the company’s stock valued at $297,000 after buying an additional 2,277 shares during the period. Atria Investments Inc purchased a new position in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals during the 2nd quarter worth $323,000. Finally, Amalgamated Bank lifted its position in Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 9.0% during the second quarter. Amalgamated Bank now owns 11,526 shares of the company’s stock worth $455,000 after buying an additional 953 shares during the period. 93.86% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have issued reports on IONS. Piper Sandler raised their target price on Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $87.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, February 27th. Wall Street Zen lowered Ionis Pharmaceuticals from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Saturday, February 28th. Needham & Company LLC lifted their price target on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $90.00 to $103.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 25th. Stifel Nicolaus raised their target price on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $73.00 to $77.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 26th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $82.00 to $100.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, January 5th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have issued a Buy rating, three have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Ionis Pharmaceuticals has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $89.00.

About Ionis Pharmaceuticals

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.