Ionis Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:IONS) Hits New 12-Month Low - Time to Sell?

Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:IONS - Get Free Report) shares hit a new 52-week low during trading on Tuesday . The company traded as low as $30.90 and last traded at $31.50, with a volume of 74774 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $31.48.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on the company. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and set a $70.00 price target on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals in a report on Wednesday, January 15th. William Blair restated an "outperform" rating on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Friday, December 20th. StockNews.com downgraded Ionis Pharmaceuticals from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Tuesday, November 12th. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a "buy" rating and set a $60.00 price objective on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Friday, December 20th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $82.00 to $77.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, November 7th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating, twelve have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Ionis Pharmaceuticals presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $60.65.

Ionis Pharmaceuticals Stock Up 1.8 %

The firm has a market cap of $4.88 billion, a P/E ratio of -12.63 and a beta of 0.34. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.86, a current ratio of 8.91 and a quick ratio of 8.82. The company's 50-day simple moving average is $34.36 and its 200 day simple moving average is $39.10.

Insider Buying and Selling at Ionis Pharmaceuticals

In other Ionis Pharmaceuticals news, EVP Eric Swayze sold 7,154 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $32.84, for a total value of $234,937.36. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 45,670 shares in the company, valued at $1,499,802.80. This represents a 13.54 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Patrick R. O'neil sold 6,165 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $31.62, for a total transaction of $194,937.30. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 57,452 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,816,632.24. This trade represents a 9.69 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 110,609 shares of company stock valued at $3,564,867. Corporate insiders own 2.71% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Ionis Pharmaceuticals

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of IONS. SG Americas Securities LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals during the 3rd quarter worth $297,000. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its stake in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 83.9% during 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 period. Creative Planning grew its holdings in Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 5.7% in the 3rd quarter. Creative Planning now owns 28,382 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,137,000 after buying an additional 1,522 shares during the period. Bleakley Financial Group LLC raised its stake in Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 2.1% during the third quarter. Bleakley Financial Group LLC now owns 16,678 shares of the company's stock worth $668,000 after purchasing an additional 338 shares during the period. Finally, International Assets Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 3,287.0% in the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 328,772 shares of the company's stock worth $13,171,000 after purchasing an additional 319,065 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.