Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:IONS) EVP Patrick R. O’neil Sells 1,207 Shares

Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:IONS) EVP Patrick R. O’neil sold 1,207 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $32.35, for a total value of $39,046.45. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 56,245 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,819,525.75. This trade represents a 2.10 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website.

Ionis Pharmaceuticals Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ IONS opened at $31.89 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.12, a quick ratio of 8.82 and a current ratio of 8.47. Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $30.23 and a fifty-two week high of $52.34. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.07 billion, a PE ratio of -10.49 and a beta of 0.34. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $33.52 and its 200-day simple moving average is $38.13.

Ionis Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:IONS) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, February 19th. The company reported ($0.66) earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($1.12) by $0.46. The business had revenue of $227.00 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $140.97 million. Ionis Pharmaceuticals had a negative return on equity of 100.05% and a negative net margin of 64.25%. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 30.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.12 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. will post -3.5 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

IONS has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and set a $70.00 target price on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals in a report on Thursday, February 20th. Piper Sandler lowered their target price on Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $65.00 to $62.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, November 14th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $82.00 to $77.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, November 7th. StockNews.com cut Ionis Pharmaceuticals from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 12th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets decreased their price objective on Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $60.00 to $45.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, February 20th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating, thirteen have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Ionis Pharmaceuticals presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $60.00.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Signaturefd LLC increased its position in Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 160.0% during the fourth quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 949 shares of the company’s stock worth $33,000 after buying an additional 584 shares during the period. Huntington National Bank increased its position in Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 193.5% during the fourth quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 951 shares of the company’s stock worth $33,000 after buying an additional 627 shares during the period. Lindbrook Capital LLC increased its position in Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 183.8% during the fourth quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC now owns 1,036 shares of the company’s stock worth $36,000 after buying an additional 671 shares during the period. Capital Performance Advisors LLP acquired a new position in Ionis Pharmaceuticals during the third quarter worth approximately $40,000. Finally, Prospera Private Wealth LLC acquired a new position in Ionis Pharmaceuticals during the third quarter worth approximately $42,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.86% of the company’s stock.

About Ionis Pharmaceuticals

Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc discovers and develops RNA-targeted therapeutics in the United States. The company offers SPINRAZA for spinal muscular atrophy (SMA) in pediatric and adult patients; TEGSEDI, an antisense injection for the treatment of polyneuropathy caused by hereditary transthyretin amyloidosis in adults; and WAYLIVRA, an antisense medicine for treatment for familial chylomicronemia syndrome (FCS) and familial partial lipodystrophy.