Insider Selling: Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:IONS) CFO Sells $49,406.12 in Stock

Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:IONS) CFO Elizabeth L. Hougen sold 1,523 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, January 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $32.44, for a total transaction of $49,406.12. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 110,500 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,584,620. The trade was a 1.36 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink.

Ionis Pharmaceuticals Trading Up 4.8 %

IONS opened at $33.17 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.24 billion, a PE ratio of -13.59 and a beta of 0.34. Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. has a one year low of $31.03 and a one year high of $52.34. 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 business’s 50 day moving average price is $34.94 and its 200 day moving average price is $39.84.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on IONS shares. William Blair reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Friday, December 20th. StockNews.com downgraded Ionis Pharmaceuticals from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 12th. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $70.00 price target on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Wednesday, January 15th. Guggenheim decreased their price objective on Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $70.00 to $65.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, October 9th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price 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. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating, twelve have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $60.65.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Ionis Pharmaceuticals

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

About Ionis Pharmaceuticals

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.