Ionis Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:IONS) Sets New 1-Year Low After Insider Selling

Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:IONS - Get Free Report) hit a new 52-week low during mid-day trading on Monday after an insider sold shares in the company. The stock traded as low as $31.32 and last traded at $31.48, with a volume of 8464 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $31.90.

Specifically, CFO Elizabeth L. Hougen sold 1,523 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $32.44, for a total transaction of $49,406.12. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 110,500 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,584,620. The trade was a 1.36 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Brett P. Monia sold 13,242 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Friday, January 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $32.45, for a total value of $429,702.90. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 219,526 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $7,123,618.70. This represents a 5.69 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In related news, EVP Eric Swayze sold 1,367 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $32.31, for a total value of $44,167.77. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 48,017 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,551,429.27. This represents a 2.77 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink.

Analyst Ratings Changes

IONS has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. William Blair reiterated an "outperform" rating on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Friday, December 20th. Royal Bank of Canada restated an "outperform" rating and set a $70.00 target price on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals in a report on Wednesday, January 15th. StockNews.com downgraded Ionis Pharmaceuticals from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Tuesday, November 12th. Needham & Company LLC restated a "buy" rating and set a $60.00 price objective on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Friday, December 20th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price 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. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating, twelve have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Ionis Pharmaceuticals has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $60.65.

Ionis Pharmaceuticals Trading Down 1.6 %

The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $34.94 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $39.84. 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 $5.15 billion, a P/E ratio of -13.37 and a beta of 0.35.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Ionis Pharmaceuticals

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Sanctuary Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Ionis Pharmaceuticals during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $784,000. SG Americas Securities LLC bought a new stake in Ionis Pharmaceuticals in the 3rd quarter valued at about $297,000. Handelsbanken Fonder AB boosted its stake in Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 26.8% during the 3rd quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB now owns 43,011 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,723,000 after purchasing an additional 9,100 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its position in Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 83.9% in the 3rd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 664 shares of the company's stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 303 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Creative Planning increased its stake in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 5.7% in the third quarter. Creative Planning now owns 28,382 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,137,000 after purchasing an additional 1,522 shares during the period. 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.