Brian Birchler Sells 6,179 Shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:IONS) Stock

Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:IONS) EVP Brian Birchler sold 6,179 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $83.03, for a total value of $513,042.37. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 66,247 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,500,488.41. The trade was a 8.53% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website.

Brian Birchler also recently made the following trade(s):

• On Friday, January 16th, Brian Birchler sold 8,480 shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $75.11, for a total transaction of $636,932.80.
• On Thursday, November 6th, Brian Birchler sold 8,000 shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $76.17, for a total transaction of $609,360.00.

Ionis Pharmaceuticals Trading Up 1.8%

NASDAQ IONS opened at $84.59 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $13.70 billion, a P/E ratio of -50.05 and a beta of 0.29. Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $23.95 and a fifty-two week high of $86.15. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $80.42 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $67.14. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.96, a quick ratio of 2.78 and a current ratio of 2.79.

Trending Headlines about Ionis Pharmaceuticals

Here are the key news stories impacting Ionis Pharmaceuticals this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Several Wall Street firms have raised targets or maintained upbeat ratings recently (Bank of America, Oppenheimer, Raymond James), which supports upside expectations and helps underpin the stock. MarketBeat IONS coverage
• Positive Sentiment: Some institutions increased or established positions in Q4 (e.g., Pictet, M&T Bank, Comerica), signaling continued institutional interest and reducing concern that sales are systemically negative. Institutional holdings details
• Neutral Sentiment: Insiders still retain large stakes after the trades (CEO and several EVPs continue to hold meaningful share counts), which can indicate rebalancing rather than full exits. CEO SEC filing
• Negative Sentiment: CEO Brett P. Monia sold 62,970 shares (~$5.2M) at ~\$82.72, reducing his stake by ~18%. A sale of this magnitude by the CEO is likely weighing on near‑term sentiment. CEO Filing
• Negative Sentiment: Multiple executive VPs (including C. Frank Bennett, Brian Birchler, Eric Swayze, Patrick O’Neil, Elizabeth Hougen, Eugene Schneider) sold ~5.9–7.0k shares each in late January at low‑$80s prices. The pattern of coordinated small‑block insider sales increases share supply and can pressure momentum traders. Bennett Filing

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Ionis Pharmaceuticals

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Capital World Investors boosted its position in Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 1.5% in the third quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 12,722,728 shares of the company’s stock worth $832,321,000 after purchasing an additional 182,540 shares during the last quarter. Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. lifted its stake in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 253.3% in the 2nd quarter. Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. now owns 3,800,000 shares of the company’s stock worth $150,138,000 after purchasing an additional 2,724,400 shares during the period. Tweedy Browne Co LLC lifted its stake in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 0.3% in the 3rd quarter. Tweedy Browne Co LLC now owns 2,901,216 shares of the company’s stock worth $189,798,000 after purchasing an additional 9,268 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 1.7% in the second quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,891,095 shares of the company’s stock worth $114,245,000 after buying an additional 48,141 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Pictet Asset Management Holding SA grew its position in Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 1.8% during the fourth quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA now owns 1,418,491 shares of the company’s stock valued at $112,476,000 after buying an additional 25,367 shares during the period. 93.86% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have recently commented on IONS shares. HC Wainwright boosted their target price on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $100.00 to $110.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, November 10th. TD Cowen reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Wednesday, December 3rd. Raymond James Financial reissued a “strong-buy” rating and set a $89.00 price objective (up previously from $85.00) on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Thursday, October 30th. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, November 1st. Finally, Bank of America lifted their target price on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $86.00 to $97.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 9th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have given a Buy rating, three have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $86.45.

About Ionis Pharmaceuticals

Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc is a biotechnology company focused on the discovery and development of RNA-targeted therapies designed to modulate gene expression. The company’s proprietary antisense oligonucleotide (ASO) technology enables the selective binding of short synthetic strands of nucleic acids to messenger RNA (mRNA), thereby inhibiting or altering the production of disease-causing proteins. Ionis’ pipeline spans a range of therapeutic areas, including neurological disorders, cardiovascular conditions, metabolic diseases and rare genetic disorders.

Since its founding in 1989 by Dr.