Insider Selling: Ionis Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:IONS) CEO Sells $2,589,099.76 in Stock

Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:IONS) CEO Brett Monia sold 34,103 shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $75.92, for a total value of $2,589,099.76. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 242,662 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $18,422,899.04. This trade represents a 12.32% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website.

Ionis Pharmaceuticals Stock Down 1.6%

Shares of NASDAQ IONS opened at $71.19 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 3.83, a quick ratio of 3.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.76. The business has a 50-day moving average of $80.51 and a 200-day moving average of $74.21. The firm has a market capitalization of $11.76 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -29.18 and a beta of 0.31. Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. has a 12 month low of $23.95 and a 12 month high of $86.74.

Ionis Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:IONS) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, February 25th. The company reported ($1.41) earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($1.23) by ($0.18). Ionis Pharmaceuticals had a negative net margin of 40.36% and a negative return on equity of 68.82%. The company had revenue of $203.33 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $156.07 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned ($0.66) earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 10.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts expect that Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. will post -3.5 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on IONS shares. Morgan Stanley set a $95.00 price objective on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 25th. Piper Sandler increased their target price on Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $87.00 to $100.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, February 27th. Bank of America raised their price target on Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $86.00 to $97.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 9th. Barclays assumed coverage on Ionis Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Wednesday, January 28th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $95.00 price target for the company. Finally, Weiss Ratings reiterated a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals in a report on Thursday, January 22nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have assigned a Buy rating, three have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $89.00.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Ionis Pharmaceuticals

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Steigerwald Gordon & Koch Inc. purchased a new position in Ionis Pharmaceuticals in the 3rd quarter worth $25,000. Golden State Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 198.4% during the third quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC now owns 376 shares of the company’s stock valued at $25,000 after buying an additional 250 shares during the period. Mather Group LLC. purchased a new stake in Ionis Pharmaceuticals during the third quarter valued at about $27,000. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. bought a new position in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals during the fourth quarter valued at about $27,000. Finally, Allworth Financial LP grew its stake in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 231.8% during the second quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 740 shares of the company’s stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 517 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 93.86% of the company’s stock.

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.