Ionis Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:IONS) EVP Sells $674,621.55 in Stock

Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:IONS) EVP C Frank Bennett sold 8,977 shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction on Friday, January 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $75.15, for a total transaction of $674,621.55. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 94,757 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,120,988.55. The trade was a 8.65% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link.

Ionis Pharmaceuticals Trading Up 1.6%

Shares of IONS traded up $1.20 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $77.53. The stock had a trading volume of 4,894,343 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,492,706. Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. has a 1 year low of $23.95 and a 1 year high of $86.15. The firm has a market cap of $12.56 billion, a PE ratio of -45.88 and a beta of 0.28. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.96, a current ratio of 2.79 and a quick ratio of 2.78. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $78.90 and its 200 day moving average is $64.33.

Ionis Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:IONS) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 29th. The company reported ($0.80) EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of ($1.15) by $0.35. Ionis Pharmaceuticals had a negative net margin of 26.45% and a negative return on equity of 44.26%. The firm had revenue of $156.72 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $131.75 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned ($0.95) EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 17.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts forecast that Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. will post -3.5 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on IONS shares. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $90.00 to $94.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 30th. TD Cowen lifted their target price on Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $59.00 to $99.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their price objective for the company from $49.00 to $80.00 in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. HC Wainwright lifted their target price on Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $100.00 to $110.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, November 10th. Finally, Piper Sandler upped their price target on Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $70.00 to $77.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 4th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seventeen have issued a Buy rating, three have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $87.05.

Key Headlines Impacting Ionis Pharmaceuticals

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

• Positive Sentiment: Analyst / media bullishness on olezarsen: A recent Seeking Alpha piece highlights an expected 2026 launch of olezarsen in SHTG and argues that approval/commercial rollout could drive a substantial revenue inflection for Ionis; the article notes strong recent momentum and positions olezarsen as the key upside catalyst. Ionis: Expected 2026 Launch Of Olezarsen In SHTG To Spur Leap In Revenue Growth
• Neutral Sentiment: Trading and technicals: Intraday volume is elevated (~4.9M shares vs. a ~1.5M average), suggesting the market is actively reacting to the news flow; the stock is above its 200‑day moving average (support) but near the 50‑day average—momentum could depend on upcoming clinical/commercial milestones.
• Negative Sentiment: Large, concentrated insider selling: Multiple executives (including CEO Brett P. Monia and several EVPs) sold shares on Jan 16 totaling roughly 117K shares (~$8.8M) — CEO sale (~44K shares, ~$3.3M) and several EVP sales of ~8–13K shares each. These filings can be reviewed in the SEC disclosures, which may signal tax/diversification activity but can also weigh on sentiment.
  Bennett filing
  Birchler filing
  Devers filing
  Hougen filing
  Jenne filing
  Kordasiewicz filing
  Monia (CEO) filing
  O’neil filing
  Schneider filing
  Swayze filings

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. CWM LLC raised its position in Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 7.3% during the third quarter. CWM LLC now owns 2,488 shares of the company’s stock valued at $163,000 after acquiring an additional 170 shares in the last quarter. Wedmont Private Capital lifted its holdings in Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 3.2% during the fourth quarter. Wedmont Private Capital now owns 5,536 shares of the company’s stock valued at $460,000 after purchasing an additional 173 shares in the last quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 198.4% in the 3rd quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC now owns 376 shares of the company’s stock worth $25,000 after buying an additional 250 shares during the last quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio increased its position in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 0.6% during the third quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio now owns 48,545 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,176,000 after purchasing an additional 301 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Steigerwald Gordon & Koch Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals during the third quarter worth $25,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.86% of the company’s stock.

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.