Elizabeth Hougen Sells 6,988 Shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:IONS) Stock

Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:IONS) EVP Elizabeth Hougen sold 6,988 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $83.24, for a total transaction of $581,681.12. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 132,881 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,061,014.44. The trade was a 5.00% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink.

Ionis Pharmaceuticals Trading Up 1.8%

IONS opened at $84.59 on Wednesday. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $80.42 and its 200 day moving average price is $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. The stock has a market capitalization of $13.70 billion, a PE ratio of -50.05 and a beta of 0.29. Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. has a one year low of $23.95 and a one year high of $86.15.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have recently commented on IONS. Needham & Company LLC upped their price objective on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $78.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, October 30th. Bank of America upped their price target on Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $86.00 to $97.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 9th. Weiss Ratings restated a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Thursday, January 22nd. Barclays assumed coverage on Ionis Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Wednesday, January 28th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $95.00 price objective for the company. Finally, HC Wainwright increased their target price on Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $100.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, November 10th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have issued a Buy rating, three have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $86.45.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Ionis Pharmaceuticals

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. purchased a new stake in Ionis Pharmaceuticals during the 4th quarter worth about $245,000. Swedbank AB acquired a new stake in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals during the 4th quarter worth about $2,156,000. Kornitzer Capital Management Inc. KS acquired a new stake in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals during the 4th quarter worth about $2,302,000. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Ionis Pharmaceuticals during the fourth quarter worth approximately $47,000. Finally, M&T Bank Corp boosted its holdings in Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 35.6% in the fourth quarter. M&T Bank Corp now owns 8,150 shares of the company’s stock valued at $644,000 after purchasing an additional 2,140 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.86% of the company’s stock.

Ionis Pharmaceuticals News Summary

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

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.