Ionis Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:IONS) Hits New 1-Year Low on Insider Selling

Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:IONS - Get Free Report)'s share price hit a new 52-week low during trading on Friday after an insider sold shares in the company. The company traded as low as $35.37 and last traded at $35.51, with a volume of 248925 shares. The stock had previously closed at $37.23.

Specifically, CEO Brett P. Monia sold 6,630 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $38.05, for a total value of $252,271.50. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 167,393 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $6,369,303.65. This trade represents a 3.81 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Eric Swayze sold 1,194 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $37.92, for a total transaction of $45,276.48. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 33,713 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,278,396.96. This represents a 3.42 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have weighed in on IONS. Piper Sandler decreased their target price on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $65.00 to $62.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday. Bank of America raised their price objective on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $67.00 to $68.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 23rd. Guggenheim decreased their target price on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $70.00 to $65.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, October 9th. BMO Capital Markets cut shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating and dropped their price target for the company from $67.00 to $60.00 in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. Finally, Leerink Partnrs raised shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 24th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating, twelve have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $60.65.

Ionis Pharmaceuticals Stock Down 7.8 %

The company has a quick ratio of 8.82, a current ratio of 8.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.86. The stock has a market cap of $5.42 billion, a PE ratio of -14.07 and a beta of 0.39. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $39.62 and a 200 day moving average of $42.75.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Ionis Pharmaceuticals

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 8.7% during the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,443,020 shares of the company's stock worth $57,807,000 after purchasing an additional 114,914 shares during the last quarter. ARK Investment Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 1.7% in the third quarter. ARK Investment Management LLC now owns 1,384,269 shares of the company's stock valued at $55,454,000 after purchasing an additional 23,244 shares during the period. Two Sigma Advisers LP lifted its holdings in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 3.5% during the third quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP now owns 1,332,411 shares of the company's stock worth $53,376,000 after purchasing an additional 45,300 shares during the period. TD Asset Management Inc lifted its stake in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 6.1% in the 2nd quarter. TD Asset Management Inc now owns 952,762 shares of the company's stock worth $45,409,000 after acquiring an additional 54,400 shares during the period. Finally, Candriam S.C.A. boosted its holdings in Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 4.0% in the 2nd quarter. Candriam S.C.A. now owns 948,266 shares of the company's stock valued at $45,192,000 after purchasing an additional 36,369 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.86% of the company's stock.

Ionis Pharmaceuticals Company Profile

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.