Ionis Pharmaceuticals Target of Unusually Large Options Trading (NASDAQ:IONS)

Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:IONS - Get Free Report) saw unusually large options trading on Monday. Investors bought 5,610 call options on the company. This represents an increase of approximately 1,252% compared to the average daily volume of 415 call options.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have issued reports on IONS shares. Redburn Atlantic began coverage on Ionis Pharmaceuticals in a report on Monday, March 31st. They set a "neutral" rating and a $39.00 price objective for the company. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an "outperform" rating and set a $70.00 price target on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals in a report on Thursday, February 20th. StockNews.com raised shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals to a "sell" rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 18th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $47.00 to $45.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, March 24th. Finally, Guggenheim restated a "buy" rating on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Thursday, April 3rd. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating, eleven have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Ionis Pharmaceuticals presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $56.72.

Ionis Pharmaceuticals Trading Up 0.4 %

NASDAQ IONS traded up $0.13 on Friday, reaching $29.70. The company had a trading volume of 1,015,576 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,527,660. Ionis Pharmaceuticals has a 52 week low of $23.95 and a 52 week high of $52.34. The stock's 50 day moving average is $30.68 and its 200-day moving average is $33.93. The company has a quick ratio of 8.82, a current ratio of 8.47 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.12. The stock has a market cap of $4.72 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -9.77 and a beta of 0.29.

Ionis Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:IONS - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 19th. The company reported ($0.66) earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of ($1.12) by $0.46. The business had revenue of $227.00 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $140.97 million. Ionis Pharmaceuticals had a negative net margin of 64.25% and a negative return on equity of 100.05%. Ionis Pharmaceuticals's revenue for the quarter was down 30.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.12 EPS. Equities analysts predict that Ionis Pharmaceuticals will post -3.5 earnings per share for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Ionis Pharmaceuticals news, CEO Brett P. Monia sold 38,843 shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $31.65, for a total transaction of $1,229,380.95. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 180,683 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $5,718,616.95. The trade was a 17.69 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Patrick R. O'neil sold 1,207 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 20th. The stock was 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 directly owns 56,245 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,819,525.75. The trade was a 2.10 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 63,167 shares of company stock worth $2,010,458. 2.71% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Ionis Pharmaceuticals

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in IONS. Xponance Inc. raised its stake in Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 1.7% during the 4th quarter. Xponance Inc. now owns 19,339 shares of the company's stock worth $676,000 after buying an additional 318 shares during the period. Amalgamated Bank increased its holdings in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 3.4% in the fourth quarter. Amalgamated Bank now owns 10,292 shares of the company's stock worth $360,000 after acquiring an additional 335 shares in the last quarter. Vontobel Holding Ltd. raised its position in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 6.6% during the fourth quarter. Vontobel Holding Ltd. now owns 5,865 shares of the company's stock worth $205,000 after purchasing an additional 363 shares during the period. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 1.7% during the 4th quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC now owns 21,826 shares of the company's stock valued at $763,000 after purchasing an additional 373 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Treasurer of the State of North Carolina grew its position in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 0.6% in the 4th quarter. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina now owns 68,803 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,405,000 after purchasing an additional 440 shares during the period. 93.86% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.