Ionis Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:IONS) EVP C Frank Bennett Sells 8,977 Shares

Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:IONS) EVP C Frank Bennett sold 8,977 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $75.15, for a total value of $674,621.55. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 94,757 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,120,988.55. The trade was a 8.65% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link.

Ionis Pharmaceuticals Stock Performance

Shares of IONS stock traded up $1.20 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $77.53. 4,894,343 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,492,706. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $78.90 and a 200 day moving average price of $64.33. The company has a market cap of $12.56 billion, a P/E ratio of -45.88 and a beta of 0.28. Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. has a 12-month low of $23.95 and a 12-month high of $86.15. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.96, a current ratio of 2.79 and a quick ratio of 2.78.

Ionis Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:IONS) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 29th. The company reported ($0.80) earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 business had revenue of $156.72 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $131.75 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned ($0.95) earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 17.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. will post -3.5 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts recently commented on the company. Barclays boosted their price target 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 lifted their price objective on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $100.00 to $110.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, November 10th. Oppenheimer upped their target price on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $84.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $90.00 to $94.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 30th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price target on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $43.00 to $67.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, October 6th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seventeen have given 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 company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $87.05.

Ionis Pharmaceuticals News Roundup

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 Trading of Ionis Pharmaceuticals

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in IONS. Capital World Investors raised its position in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 1.5% during the 3rd quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 12,722,728 shares of the company’s stock valued at $832,321,000 after buying an additional 182,540 shares in the last quarter. Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. increased its stake in Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 253.3% during the second quarter. Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. now owns 3,800,000 shares of the company’s stock worth $150,138,000 after acquiring an additional 2,724,400 shares during the last quarter. Tweedy Browne Co LLC raised its position in Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 0.3% during the third quarter. Tweedy Browne Co LLC now owns 2,901,216 shares of the company’s stock valued at $189,798,000 after purchasing an additional 9,268 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 1.7% in the 2nd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,891,095 shares of the company’s stock valued at $114,245,000 after purchasing an additional 48,141 shares during the last quarter. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 190.3% in the 3rd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 1,372,225 shares of the company’s stock worth $89,771,000 after purchasing an additional 899,476 shares during the period. 93.86% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.