Ionis Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:IONS) CEO Sells $3,294,623.88 in Stock

Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:IONS) CEO Brett Monia sold 44,034 shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $74.82, for a total value of $3,294,623.88. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 224,683 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $16,810,782.06. This trade represents a 16.39% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink.

Ionis Pharmaceuticals Trading Up 1.6%

Shares of IONS traded up $1.20 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $77.53. The company had a trading volume of 4,894,343 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,492,706. Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. has a 1-year low of $23.95 and a 1-year high of $86.15. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $78.90 and its 200-day simple moving average is $64.33. The stock has a market cap of $12.56 billion, a PE ratio of -45.88 and a beta of 0.28. The company has a quick ratio of 2.78, a current ratio of 2.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.96.

Ionis Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:IONS) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 29th. The company reported ($0.80) earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of ($1.15) by $0.35. Ionis Pharmaceuticals had a negative net margin of 26.45% and a negative return on equity of 44.26%. The company had revenue of $156.72 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $131.75 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted ($0.95) earnings per share. Ionis Pharmaceuticals’s revenue was up 17.2% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts forecast that Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. will post -3.5 earnings per share for the current year.

More Ionis Pharmaceuticals News

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

• Positive Sentiment: Analyst / media bullishness on olezarsen: A recent Seeking Alpha piece highlights an expected 2026 launch of olezarsen in SHTG and argues that approval/commercial rollout could drive a substantial revenue inflection for Ionis; the article notes strong recent momentum and positions olezarsen as the key upside catalyst. Ionis: Expected 2026 Launch Of Olezarsen In SHTG To Spur Leap In Revenue Growth
• Neutral Sentiment: Trading and technicals: Intraday volume is elevated (~4.9M shares vs. a ~1.5M average), suggesting the market is actively reacting to the news flow; the stock is above its 200‑day moving average (support) but near the 50‑day average—momentum could depend on upcoming clinical/commercial milestones.
• Negative Sentiment: Large, concentrated insider selling: Multiple executives (including CEO Brett P. Monia and several EVPs) sold shares on Jan 16 totaling roughly 117K shares (~$8.8M) — CEO sale (~44K shares, ~$3.3M) and several EVP sales of ~8–13K shares each. These filings can be reviewed in the SEC disclosures, which may signal tax/diversification activity but can also weigh on sentiment.
  Bennett filing
  Birchler filing
  Devers filing
  Hougen filing
  Jenne filing
  Kordasiewicz filing
  Monia (CEO) filing
  O’neil filing
  Schneider filing
  Swayze filings

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Steigerwald Gordon & Koch Inc. acquired a new position in Ionis Pharmaceuticals during the third quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Golden State Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 198.4% during the third quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC now owns 376 shares of the company’s stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 250 shares during the period. Mather Group LLC. acquired a new stake in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals in the 3rd quarter valued at $27,000. Allworth Financial LP grew its position in Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 231.8% during the 2nd quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 740 shares of the company’s stock worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 517 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Quarry LP bought a new position in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals in the third quarter worth about $38,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.86% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on the company. Barclays raised their price objective on Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $80.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, October 30th. HC Wainwright increased their target price on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $100.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, November 10th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their target price on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $82.00 to $95.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 17th. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped their price target on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $90.00 to $94.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 30th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seventeen have given a Buy rating, three have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $87.05.

About Ionis Pharmaceuticals

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.