Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:IONS) Short Interest Up 6.2% in October

Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:IONS) was the target of a significant growth in short interest in October. As of October 31st, there was short interest totalling 9,700,000 shares, a growth of 6.2% from the October 15th total of 9,130,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 1,010,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 9.6 days. Currently, 6.9% of the shares of the stock are sold short.

Ionis Pharmaceuticals Stock Up 0.9 %

NASDAQ:IONS opened at $48.97 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.06, a current ratio of 6.39 and a quick ratio of 6.33. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $45.56 and its 200-day moving average price is $41.99. The company has a market capitalization of $7.03 billion, a PE ratio of -17.06 and a beta of 0.46. Ionis Pharmaceuticals has a 1-year low of $32.69 and a 1-year high of $50.39.

Insider Activity at Ionis Pharmaceuticals

In other news, Director B Lynne Parshall sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $45.13, for a total value of $451,300.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 82,588 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,727,196.44. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. In other news, EVP C Frank Bennett sold 4,460 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $46.50, for a total value of $207,390.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 65,754 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,057,561. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director B Lynne Parshall sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $45.13, for a total transaction of $451,300.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 82,588 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,727,196.44. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 20,282 shares of company stock valued at $934,603 over the last three months. 2.65% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Ionis Pharmaceuticals

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Peoples Bank KS bought a new position in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals in the third quarter worth approximately $39,000. Almanack Investment Partners LLC. bought a new stake in Ionis Pharmaceuticals in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $44,000. Quantbot Technologies LP bought a new position in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals during the 2nd quarter valued at $44,000. Captrust Financial Advisors grew its holdings in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 21.1% in the second quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 1,429 shares of the company’s stock worth $53,000 after acquiring an additional 249 shares during the period. Finally, Horizon Investments LLC lifted its holdings in Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 29.6% in the second quarter. Horizon Investments LLC now owns 1,736 shares of the company’s stock valued at $71,000 after acquiring an additional 397 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.86% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Needham & Company LLC reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $60.00 target price on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Friday. William Blair restated an “outperform” rating on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Monday, November 13th. Bank of America upgraded shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals from an “underperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $33.00 to $52.00 in a report on Monday, October 23rd. Citigroup raised Ionis Pharmaceuticals from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price target for the company from $36.00 to $60.00 in a research report on Monday, July 31st. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded Ionis Pharmaceuticals from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, November 13th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $48.23.

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.