Ionis Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:IONS) EVP Sells $744,692.12 in Stock

Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:IONS) EVP Elizabeth Hougen sold 10,172 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $73.21, for a total value of $744,692.12. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 82,660 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,051,538.60. This trade represents a 10.96% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink.

Ionis Pharmaceuticals Price Performance

Ionis Pharmaceuticals stock opened at $70.99 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $11.73 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -29.09 and a beta of 0.31. Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. has a 52-week low of $23.95 and a 52-week high of $86.74. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.76, a quick ratio of 3.81 and a current ratio of 3.83. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $79.58 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $75.22.

Ionis Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:IONS) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 25th. The company reported ($1.41) earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($1.23) by ($0.18). Ionis Pharmaceuticals had a negative net margin of 40.36% and a negative return on equity of 68.82%. The company had revenue of $203.33 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $156.07 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned ($0.66) EPS. The business’s revenue was down 10.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts predict that Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. will post -3.5 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Capital World Investors grew its holdings in Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 41.2% during the fourth quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 17,961,299 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,420,918,000 after buying an additional 5,238,571 shares in the last quarter. Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. lifted its stake in Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 253.3% during the 2nd quarter. Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. now owns 3,800,000 shares of the company’s stock valued at $150,138,000 after acquiring an additional 2,724,400 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 2.7% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 3,148,849 shares of the company’s stock valued at $249,158,000 after acquiring an additional 82,560 shares in the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD boosted its holdings in Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 9.5% during the 4th quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 2,987,840 shares of the company’s stock worth $236,370,000 after acquiring an additional 258,155 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Tweedy Browne Co LLC boosted its holdings in Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 0.3% during the 3rd quarter. Tweedy Browne Co LLC now owns 2,901,216 shares of the company’s stock worth $189,798,000 after acquiring an additional 9,268 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.86% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on IONS. Barclays started coverage on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals in a report on Wednesday, January 28th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $95.00 price objective on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $82.00 to $100.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, January 5th. Needham & Company LLC upped their price target on Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $90.00 to $103.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 25th. TD Cowen reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Wednesday, December 3rd. Finally, Piper Sandler increased their target price on Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $87.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, February 27th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have assigned a Buy rating, three have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $89.00.

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.