Ionis Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:IONS) Hits New 12-Month Low – Here’s Why

Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:IONS) hit a new 52-week low during mid-day trading on Monday . The company traded as low as $29.61 and last traded at $30.09, with a volume of 96038 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $31.15.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on IONS shares. BMO Capital Markets decreased their price objective on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $60.00 to $45.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, February 20th. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $60.00 price target on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals in a report on Thursday, February 20th. StockNews.com raised Ionis Pharmaceuticals to a “sell” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 18th. Redburn Atlantic started coverage on Ionis Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Monday. They set a “neutral” rating and a $39.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Citigroup lowered their target price on Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $67.00 to $64.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, February 20th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating, thirteen have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Ionis Pharmaceuticals currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $58.37.

Ionis Pharmaceuticals Stock Performance

The company has a current ratio of 8.47, a quick ratio of 8.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.12. The company’s 50-day moving average is $32.53 and its two-hundred day moving average is $35.70. The firm has a market cap of $4.78 billion, a P/E ratio of -9.90 and a beta of 0.28.

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

Insider Transactions at Ionis Pharmaceuticals

In other news, CEO Brett P. Monia sold 33,445 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $32.63, for a total value of $1,091,310.35. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 207,396 shares in the company, valued at $6,767,331.48. The trade was a 13.89 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Patrick R. O’neil sold 1,207 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $32.35, for a total value of $39,046.45. Following the completion of 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 position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 111,956 shares of company stock worth $3,608,439 in the last quarter. 2.71% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Ionis Pharmaceuticals

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Signaturefd LLC boosted its stake in Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 160.0% in the fourth quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 949 shares of the company’s stock valued at $33,000 after acquiring an additional 584 shares during the last quarter. Huntington National Bank raised its holdings in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 193.5% in the 4th quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 951 shares of the company’s stock worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 627 shares during the period. Lindbrook Capital LLC lifted its stake in Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 183.8% in the fourth quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC now owns 1,036 shares of the company’s stock valued at $36,000 after purchasing an additional 671 shares during the last quarter. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. grew its holdings in Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 40.9% during the third quarter. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. now owns 1,081 shares of the company’s stock valued at $43,000 after purchasing an additional 314 shares during the period. Finally, Quantbot Technologies LP purchased a new stake in Ionis Pharmaceuticals in the third quarter worth $51,000. Institutional investors 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.