Ionis Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:IONS) Shares Gap Down on Insider Selling

Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:IONS) shares gapped down before the market opened on Thursday after an insider sold shares in the company. The stock had previously closed at $84.46, but opened at $67.78. Ionis Pharmaceuticals shares last traded at $68.4070, with a volume of 4,290,986 shares trading hands.

Specifically, EVP C Frank Bennett sold 15,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the executive vice president owned 75,018 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,411,038.28. The trade was a 16.66% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, EVP C Frank Bennett sold 5,536 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $83.58, for a total transaction of $462,698.88. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 75,018 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,270,004.44. This represents a 6.87% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. In related news, EVP Holly B. Kordasiewicz sold 362 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $84.30, for a total value of $30,516.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 22,096 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,862,692.80. The trade was a 1.61% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have commented on IONS shares. Oppenheimer reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $111.00 price target on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. Canaccord Genuity Group decreased their price target on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $110.00 to $95.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday. Morgan Stanley lowered their price objective on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $130.00 to $110.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday. Leerink Partners upped their price objective on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $122.00 to $129.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, June 25th. Finally, TD Cowen reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $108.00 target price on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals in a report on Monday, June 15th. Eighteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $96.80.

Ionis Pharmaceuticals News Summary

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

• Negative Sentiment: Ionis and AstraZeneca disclosed that the Phase 3 CARDIO-TTRansform trial for eplontersen in ATTR-CM failed to hit its main efficacy goal, a major setback for a key partnered drug. Article Title
• Negative Sentiment: Reuters reported that the AstraZeneca-Ionis heart drug also missed its main goal of reducing cardiovascular deaths and recurrent heart problems, reinforcing investor concerns about the program. Article Title
• Negative Sentiment: Several insiders, including an executive vice president and a director, disclosed stock sales under pre-arranged 10b5-1 plans, adding to near-term caution.
• Negative Sentiment: Traders bought an unusually large number of put options, suggesting some market participants are positioning for further downside.
• Neutral Sentiment: Multiple analysts cut price targets on IONS, but most kept Buy/Overweight ratings, indicating valuation confidence even after the setback. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: HC Wainwright, Morgan Stanley, Canaccord Genuity, and Needham all lowered targets, with Needham trimming its target to $86 from $105 while maintaining a Buy rating. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: Ionis updated FY2026 revenue guidance to $875 million-$900 million, roughly in line with expectations, which does little to offset the clinical disappointment.

Ionis Pharmaceuticals Stock Down 9.4%

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.75, a current ratio of 4.10 and a quick ratio of 4.09. The company has a market capitalization of $9.63 billion, a P/E ratio of -28.14 and a beta of 0.36. The company has a 50 day moving average of $75.78 and a 200-day moving average of $77.27.

Ionis Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:IONS) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 29th. The company reported ($0.56) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.85) by $0.29. Ionis Pharmaceuticals had a negative net margin of 30.91% and a negative return on equity of 58.65%. The business had revenue of $246.09 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $195.56 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned ($0.93) EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 86.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. will post -3.69 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in IONS. Grandfield & Dodd LLC grew its holdings in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 0.4% during the fourth quarter. Grandfield & Dodd LLC now owns 37,821 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,992,000 after buying an additional 146 shares during the last quarter. Checchi Capital Advisers LLC raised its holdings in Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 3.7% in the 1st quarter. Checchi Capital Advisers LLC now owns 4,429 shares of the company’s stock worth $333,000 after acquiring an additional 157 shares during the last quarter. Wedmont Private Capital raised its holdings in Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 3.2% in the 4th quarter. Wedmont Private Capital now owns 5,536 shares of the company’s stock worth $460,000 after acquiring an additional 173 shares during the last quarter. Prospera Financial Services Inc lifted its position in Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 3.9% in the 4th quarter. Prospera Financial Services Inc now owns 4,759 shares of the company’s stock valued at $376,000 after acquiring an additional 178 shares in the last quarter. Finally, MetLife Investment Management LLC lifted its position in Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 2.6% in the 4th quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC now owns 9,674 shares of the company’s stock valued at $765,000 after acquiring an additional 246 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.86% of the company’s stock.

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.