Ionis Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:IONS) Reaches New 12-Month Low – Time to Sell?

Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:IONS) shares reached a new 52-week low on Tuesday . The company traded as low as $49.19 and last traded at $48.99, with a volume of 313003 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $51.44.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have recently issued reports on IONS. Needham & Company LLC reissued a “buy” rating and set a $86.00 target price on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Friday, September 4th. Weiss Ratings restated a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Friday, July 17th. Morgan Stanley reduced their price target on Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $110.00 to $104.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, September 8th. Citigroup lowered their price target on Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $115.00 to $100.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, July 10th. Finally, HC Wainwright dropped their price objective on Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $115.00 to $100.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, September 8th. Seventeen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Ionis Pharmaceuticals currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $90.80.

Ionis Pharmaceuticals Stock Down 5.1%

The firm has a market cap of $7.45 billion, a PE ratio of -12.96 and a beta of 0.42. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $56.60 and its 200 day moving average price is $68.82. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.07, a current ratio of 7.89 and a quick ratio of 7.73.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Ionis Pharmaceuticals news, EVP C. Bennett sold 15,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $85.46, for a total transaction of $1,281,900.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 75,018 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,411,038.28. The trade was a 16.66% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, Director Michael Hayden bought 5,000 shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction on Friday, July 31st. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $51.60 per share, with a total value of $258,000.00. Following the acquisition, the director directly owned 24,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,238,400. The trade was a 26.32% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold a total of 156,317 shares of company stock worth $12,656,566 in the last quarter. 1.81% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Ionis Pharmaceuticals

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of IONS. Grandfield & Dodd LLC boosted its stake in Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 0.4% in the fourth quarter. Grandfield & Dodd LLC now owns 37,821 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,992,000 after acquiring an additional 146 shares in the last quarter. Checchi Capital Advisers LLC increased its position in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 3.7% during the first quarter. Checchi Capital Advisers LLC now owns 4,429 shares of the company’s stock worth $333,000 after purchasing an additional 157 shares in the last quarter. Prospera Financial Services Inc increased its position in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 3.9% during the fourth quarter. Prospera Financial Services Inc now owns 4,759 shares of the company’s stock worth $376,000 after purchasing an additional 178 shares in the last quarter. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 7.4% in the 2nd quarter. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC now owns 2,926 shares of the company’s stock valued at $232,000 after purchasing an additional 202 shares during the last quarter. Finally, HighTower Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 7.6% in the 2nd quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 4,084 shares of the company’s stock valued at $324,000 after purchasing an additional 287 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.86% of the company’s stock.

Ionis Pharmaceuticals Company Profile

Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc is a biotechnology company that discovers and develops medicines using antisense technology, which is designed to target RNA and influence the production of disease-related proteins. The company focuses on neurological, cardiovascular, metabolic and other serious diseases for which there remains a significant unmet medical need.

Ionis has developed several approved therapies, including SPINRAZA (nusinersen) for spinal muscular atrophy, QALSODY (tofersen) for a form of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, TEGSEDI (inotersen) for hereditary transthyretin-mediated amyloidosis and WAYLIVRA (volanesorsen) for familial chylomicronemia syndrome in certain markets.