Insider Selling: Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:IONS) CEO Sells 13,242 Shares of Stock

Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:IONS) CEO Brett P. Monia sold 13,242 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $32.45, for a total transaction of $429,702.90. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 219,526 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,123,618.70. This trade represents a 5.69 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link.

Ionis Pharmaceuticals Trading Up 0.7 %

Ionis Pharmaceuticals stock traded up $0.23 during midday trading on Monday, reaching $32.13. The stock had a trading volume of 1,662,595 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,661,709. Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. has a twelve month low of $31.03 and a twelve month high of $52.34. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.07 billion, a PE ratio of -13.17 and a beta of 0.35. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.86, a quick ratio of 8.82 and a current ratio of 8.91. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $35.07 and its 200 day simple moving average is $40.00.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Ionis Pharmaceuticals

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its holdings in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 83.9% during the 3rd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 664 shares of the company’s stock valued at $27,000 after acquiring an additional 303 shares during the last quarter. Capital Performance Advisors LLP acquired a new position in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $40,000. Prospera Private Wealth LLC bought a new stake in Ionis Pharmaceuticals during the 3rd quarter worth about $42,000. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. increased its stake in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 40.9% in the 3rd quarter. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. now owns 1,081 shares of the company’s stock valued at $43,000 after buying an additional 314 shares during the period. Finally, Quantbot Technologies LP bought a new stake in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals during the third quarter worth approximately $51,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.86% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have commented on IONS. Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $70.00 price target on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals in a report on Wednesday, January 15th. Piper Sandler dropped their price target on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $65.00 to $62.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, November 14th. Guggenheim lowered their price objective on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $70.00 to $65.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, October 9th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $82.00 to $77.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, November 7th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $60.00 price target on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Friday, December 20th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating, twelve have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $60.65.

Ionis Pharmaceuticals Company Profile

Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc discovers and develops RNA-targeted therapeutics in the United States. The company offers SPINRAZA for spinal muscular atrophy (SMA) in pediatric and adult patients; TEGSEDI, an antisense injection for the treatment of polyneuropathy caused by hereditary transthyretin amyloidosis in adults; and WAYLIVRA, an antisense medicine for treatment for familial chylomicronemia syndrome (FCS) and familial partial lipodystrophy.