Ionis Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:IONS) Reaches New 52-Week High – Here’s What Happened

Shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:IONS) reached a new 52-week high during trading on Wednesday . The stock traded as high as $86.74 and last traded at $85.4380, with a volume of 74952 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $86.33.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts recently weighed in on IONS shares. Royal Bank Of Canada increased their price objective on Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $95.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. Barclays lifted their target price on Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $106.00 to $115.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. Needham & Company LLC raised their price objective on Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $103.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 25th. Oppenheimer reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $111.00 target price on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price target on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $74.00 to $75.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 24th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have issued a Buy rating, two have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Ionis Pharmaceuticals has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $102.90.

Ionis Pharmaceuticals Trading Down 1.6%

The company has a current ratio of 4.10, a quick ratio of 4.09 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.75. The company has a market cap of $14.03 billion, a PE ratio of -41.06 and a beta of 0.36. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $76.02 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $77.47.

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

Insider Activity at Ionis Pharmaceuticals

In related news, EVP Eric Swayze sold 10,602 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, June 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $79.18, for a total value of $839,466.36. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 21,759 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,722,877.62. This represents a 32.76% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CEO Brett P. Monia sold 50,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, June 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $80.59, for a total value of $4,029,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 245,571 shares in the company, valued at approximately $19,790,566.89. This represents a 16.92% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders have sold a total of 213,029 shares of company stock worth $16,500,601 over the last ninety days. 1.81% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Ionis Pharmaceuticals

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Capital World Investors raised its holdings in Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 41.2% during the fourth quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 17,961,299 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,420,918,000 after purchasing an additional 5,238,571 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 2.7% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 3,148,849 shares of the company’s stock valued at $249,158,000 after buying an additional 82,560 shares during the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD grew its position in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 9.5% in the 4th quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 2,987,840 shares of the company’s stock valued at $236,370,000 after buying an additional 258,155 shares during the last quarter. Tweedy Browne Co LLC raised its stake in Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 0.3% during the 3rd quarter. Tweedy Browne Co LLC now owns 2,901,216 shares of the company’s stock worth $189,798,000 after acquiring an additional 9,268 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Baker BROS. Advisors LP raised its stake in Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 216.1% during the 4th quarter. Baker BROS. Advisors LP now owns 1,791,841 shares of the company’s stock worth $141,753,000 after acquiring an additional 1,225,043 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.86% of the company’s stock.

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.