Rafferty Asset Management LLC Decreases Stake in Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. $IONS

Rafferty Asset Management LLC cut its stake in Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:IONS) by 13.1% in the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 125,773 shares of the company’s stock after selling 18,997 shares during the period. Rafferty Asset Management LLC owned 0.08% of Ionis Pharmaceuticals worth $8,228,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the stock. American Century Companies Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 190.3% in the third quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 1,372,225 shares of the company’s stock worth $89,771,000 after buying an additional 899,476 shares during the last quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB increased its position in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 20.1% in the 3rd quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB now owns 51,911 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,396,000 after acquiring an additional 8,700 shares during the period. Artisan Partners Limited Partnership raised its stake in Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 150.8% in the 3rd quarter. Artisan Partners Limited Partnership now owns 890,072 shares of the company’s stock worth $58,229,000 after acquiring an additional 535,110 shares during the last quarter. Dana Investment Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in Ionis Pharmaceuticals during the 3rd quarter worth about $1,231,000. Finally, OneDigital Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Ionis Pharmaceuticals during the 3rd quarter worth about $235,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.86% of the company’s stock.

Ionis Pharmaceuticals News Roundup

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

• Positive Sentiment: Piper Sandler raised its price target to $100 and moved to an “overweight” rating, signaling ~23% upside from current levels — a clear buy-side endorsement. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Needham lifted its price target to $103 from $90, another analyst upgrade supporting the rally and reflecting greater confidence in revenue trajectory. Needham Lifts PT on Ionis Pharmaceuticals (IONS) to $103 From $90
• Positive Sentiment: Updates to Tryngolza outlook are materially positive: recent analysis lifts peak revenue estimates (several sources cite >$2B for Tryngolza and company-level peak revenue/royalty/milestone potential in the multi‑billion range), and management guides to cash-flow breakeven by 2028 — bullish for long-term value. Ionis Pharmaceuticals: Digesting Recent Events
• Neutral Sentiment: Company presented at Oppenheimer’s healthcare conference; slides/transcript provide additional visibility into pipeline progress and commercialization strategy but are informational rather than catalytic. IONS Presents at Oppenheimer Conference Transcript
• Neutral Sentiment: General earnings call coverage/recaps are available for detail on management commentary and guidance; useful for modeling but not single-handedly market-moving. Q4 2025 Earnings Call Summary
• Negative Sentiment: Q4 results were mixed: revenue and Tryngolza sales beat expectations, but EPS missed estimates and management gave a softer 2026 outlook, which pressured the stock in after-hours/early trade. Ionis Q4 Earnings & Sales Beat, Stock Down on Soft 2026 Outlook
• Negative Sentiment: Coverage noted the EPS miss led to a gap-down reaction in some sessions; near-term uptake for new drugs and the FY2026 revenue cadence remain the main risk factors to watch. Shares Gap Down on Disappointing Earnings
• Negative Sentiment: Stifel raised its target modestly to $77 but kept a “hold” rating — the lower relative PT signals at least one shop sees limited near-term upside. Article Title

Insider Buying and Selling at Ionis Pharmaceuticals

In other news, EVP Eugene Schneider sold 6,179 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $83.45, for a total transaction of $515,637.55. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 69,702 shares in the company, valued at $5,816,631.90. This trade represents a 8.14% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Brett P. Monia sold 29,430 shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $85.79, for a total value of $2,524,799.70. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 254,497 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $21,833,297.63. This represents a 10.37% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 436,579 shares of company stock worth $35,367,233. 2.71% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on IONS. Morgan Stanley set a $95.00 price objective on Ionis Pharmaceuticals and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday. Piper Sandler increased their price target on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $87.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday. HC Wainwright lifted their price objective on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $100.00 to $110.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, November 10th. Leerink Partners upped their price objective on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $85.00 to $100.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, December 15th. Finally, Wall Street Zen cut shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Saturday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have assigned a Buy rating, three have given 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 an average target price of $88.80.

Ionis Pharmaceuticals Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ IONS opened at $81.15 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.76, a current ratio of 3.83 and a quick ratio of 3.81. The stock has a market capitalization of $13.41 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -33.26 and a beta of 0.31. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $81.33 and its 200-day simple moving average is $72.32. Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. has a 12 month low of $23.95 and a 12 month high of $86.74.

Ionis Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:IONS) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 25th. The company reported ($1.41) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($1.23) by ($0.18). The firm had revenue of $203.00 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $156.07 million. Ionis Pharmaceuticals had a negative return on equity of 68.82% and a negative net margin of 40.36%.The business’s quarterly revenue was down 10.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company posted ($0.66) earnings per share. Analysts expect that Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. will post -3.5 EPS for the current year.

Ionis Pharmaceuticals 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.