Insider Selling: Ionis Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:IONS) EVP Sells 5,812 Shares of Stock

Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:IONS) EVP Eugene Schneider sold 5,812 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $70.97, for a total transaction of $412,477.64. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 63,890 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,534,273.30. This trade represents a 8.34% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website.

Eugene Schneider also recently made the following trade(s):

• On Friday, January 30th, Eugene Schneider sold 6,179 shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $83.45, for a total transaction of $515,637.55.
• On Friday, January 16th, Eugene Schneider sold 9,302 shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $75.59, for a total transaction of $703,138.18.

Ionis Pharmaceuticals Trading Down 0.3%

Shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals stock traded down $0.20 during trading on Monday, hitting $70.79. 2,198,127 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,540,887. Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $23.95 and a fifty-two week high of $86.74. The company has a current ratio of 3.83, a quick ratio of 3.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.76. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $79.37 and a 200 day moving average price of $75.53.

Ionis Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:IONS) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, February 25th. The company reported ($1.41) EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($1.23) by ($0.18). The company had revenue of $203.33 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $156.07 million. Ionis Pharmaceuticals had a negative net margin of 40.36% and a negative return on equity of 68.82%. Ionis Pharmaceuticals’s quarterly revenue was down 10.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company posted ($0.66) EPS. On average, equities research analysts predict that Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. will post -3.5 EPS for the current year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages recently weighed in on IONS. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their target price on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $73.00 to $77.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 26th. TD Cowen reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Wednesday, December 3rd. Morgan Stanley set a $95.00 price target on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 25th. Royal Bank Of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Wednesday, February 25th. Finally, Barclays started coverage on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Wednesday, January 28th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $95.00 target price on the stock. One equities 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 issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $89.00.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Stanley Laman Group Ltd. purchased a new position in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals in the 3rd quarter worth about $2,340,000. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA grew its holdings in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 66.1% during the 3rd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 862,593 shares of the company’s stock worth $56,431,000 after purchasing an additional 343,409 shares during the period. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Ionis Pharmaceuticals during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $17,790,000. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. raised its holdings in Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 1,669.0% in the third quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 312,297 shares of the company’s stock valued at $20,430,000 after buying an additional 294,643 shares during the period. Finally, Dynasty Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Ionis Pharmaceuticals in the third quarter valued at approximately $938,000. 93.86% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.