Brett Monia Sells 21,072 Shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:IONS) Stock

Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:IONS) CEO Brett Monia sold 21,072 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $78.49, for a total transaction of $1,653,941.28. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 245,571 shares in the company, valued at $19,274,867.79. This trade represents a 7.90% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan.

Ionis Pharmaceuticals Stock Up 3.6%

Shares of NASDAQ:IONS opened at $81.18 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.75, a current ratio of 4.10 and a quick ratio of 4.09. The stock has a market cap of $13.42 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -39.22 and a beta of 0.37. The company has a 50 day moving average of $75.03 and a 200-day moving average of $77.36. Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. has a one year low of $39.37 and a one year high of $86.74.

Ionis Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:IONS) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 29th. The company reported ($0.56) earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.85) by $0.29. Ionis Pharmaceuticals had a negative net margin of 30.91% and a negative return on equity of 58.65%. The business had revenue of $246.09 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $195.56 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted ($0.93) earnings per share. Ionis Pharmaceuticals’s revenue was up 86.4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. will post -3.69 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Trading of Ionis Pharmaceuticals

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. raised its stake in Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 72.5% during the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 652,518 shares of the company’s stock worth $19,686,000 after buying an additional 274,310 shares during the period. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC grew its stake in Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 6.4% in the first quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 659,435 shares of the company’s stock valued at $19,895,000 after acquiring an additional 39,794 shares during the period. Focus Partners Wealth increased its holdings in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 30.1% in the first quarter. Focus Partners Wealth now owns 9,832 shares of the company’s stock worth $297,000 after acquiring an additional 2,277 shares in the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals during the second quarter worth about $220,000. Finally, Prudential Financial Inc. raised its position in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 47.8% during the second quarter. Prudential Financial Inc. now owns 9,254 shares of the company’s stock worth $341,000 after purchasing an additional 2,991 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 93.86% of the company’s stock.

Key Ionis Pharmaceuticals News

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

• Positive Sentiment: Ionis received FDA approval expanding TRYNGOLZA to treat severe hypertriglyceridemia, strengthening the drug’s commercial opportunity and making it the first approved therapy for the condition. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Ionis announced a licensing deal with Recordati for ex-U.S. rights to zilganersen in Alexander disease, which provides upfront and royalty potential while allowing Ionis to keep U.S. commercialization rights. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Leerink Partners raised its price target on Ionis, signaling continued analyst confidence in the company’s pipeline and commercial execution. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: HC Wainwright kept a Buy rating but lowered some 2027 EPS estimates, which is a mild headwind but not a major shift in the firm’s overall view. Article Title

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Weiss Ratings restated a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Tuesday, April 21st. Raymond James Financial assumed coverage on Ionis Pharmaceuticals in a report on Friday, April 10th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $104.00 price objective for the company. Citigroup started coverage on Ionis Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Monday, May 18th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $115.00 target price on the stock. Wall Street Zen upgraded Ionis Pharmaceuticals from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, May 2nd. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their target price on Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $95.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have issued a Buy rating, two have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Ionis Pharmaceuticals currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $102.90.

Ionis Pharmaceuticals Company Profile

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.