Michael Hayden Buys 5,000 Shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:IONS) Stock

Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:IONS) Director Michael Hayden bought 5,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, July 31st. The shares were acquired at an average price of $51.60 per share, for a total transaction of $258,000.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director owned 24,000 shares in the company, valued at $1,238,400. The trade was a 26.32% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website.

Ionis Pharmaceuticals Trading Down 2.8%

Shares of NASDAQ:IONS opened at $51.77 on Friday. The business’s 50-day moving average is $69.55 and its 200 day moving average is $74.57. Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. has a 1 year low of $40.03 and a 1 year high of $86.74. The firm has a market capitalization of $8.60 billion, a P/E ratio of -14.96 and a beta of 0.36. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.07, a current ratio of 7.89 and a quick ratio of 4.09.

Ionis Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:IONS) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The company reported ($0.56) earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.85) by $0.29. The business had revenue of $246.09 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $195.56 million. Ionis Pharmaceuticals had a negative return on equity of 111.08% and a negative net margin of 64.76%.The company’s quarterly revenue was up 86.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned ($0.93) earnings per share. On average, research analysts predict that Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. will post -3.67 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ionis Pharmaceuticals News Roundup

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

• Positive Sentiment: Ionis beat Wall Street’s second-quarter revenue and earnings expectations, helped by commercial growth despite difficult year-over-year comparisons. Management also reaffirmed its 2026 outlook, supporting confidence in the company’s operating trajectory. Zacks Q2 earnings report
• Positive Sentiment: Director Michael R. Hayden bought 15,000 shares for approximately $800,700 on July 30 and another 5,000 shares for $258,000 on July 31. The purchases materially increased his ownership and may be viewed as a signal of confidence in Ionis’s valuation and prospects. SEC insider-trading filing
• Neutral Sentiment: Wells Fargo lowered its price target from $100 to $95 while maintaining an “overweight” rating. The reduced target reflects more cautious valuation expectations, but the rating remains bullish. Benzinga analyst report
• Neutral Sentiment: HC Wainwright cut its target from $125 to $115 but retained a “buy” rating, similarly indicating lower near-term valuation expectations while maintaining a positive view of the stock. StreetInsider analyst report
• Negative Sentiment: Pomerantz LLP announced an investigation into potential claims on behalf of Ionis investors. Although the announcement does not establish wrongdoing, it adds legal and reputational uncertainty and may weigh on sentiment. Pomerantz investor alert

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Handelsbanken Fonder AB lifted its holdings in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 79.1% during the second quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB now owns 383,211 shares of the company’s stock worth $30,385,000 after purchasing an additional 169,300 shares during the period. Victrix Investment Advisors acquired a new position in Ionis Pharmaceuticals in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $270,000. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. increased its holdings in Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 21.5% in the 2nd quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 40,927 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,245,000 after buying an additional 7,254 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its position in Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 22.8% during the 2nd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 2,168 shares of the company’s stock worth $172,000 after buying an additional 402 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Harbor Investment Advisory LLC purchased a new position in Ionis Pharmaceuticals during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $112,000. 93.86% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts recently commented on the stock. Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $130.00 to $110.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, July 10th. Royal Bank Of Canada dropped their target price 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. Bank of America upped their price target on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $100.00 to $111.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 9th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals in a report on Friday, July 17th. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group lowered their price objective on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $110.00 to $95.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, July 10th. Eighteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $94.85.

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.