Ionis Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:IONS) Cut to “Sell” at Wall Street Zen

Wall Street Zen cut shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:IONS) from a hold rating to a sell rating in a report published on Saturday.

Several other analysts have also recently weighed in on the stock. Leerink Partners lifted their price target on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $122.00 to $129.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, June 25th. The Goldman Sachs Group restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $69.00 price objective on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals in a report on Wednesday, July 29th. TD Cowen reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $108.00 target price on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Monday, June 15th. 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, Canaccord Genuity Group reduced their price target on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $110.00 to $95.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, July 10th. Eighteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $94.65.

Ionis Pharmaceuticals Price Performance

Shares of IONS stock opened at $54.49 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $9.06 billion, a P/E ratio of -15.75 and a beta of 0.41. Ionis Pharmaceuticals has a fifty-two week low of $40.03 and a fifty-two week high of $86.74. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $69.13 and its 200-day moving average price is $74.35. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.07, a quick ratio of 7.73 and a current ratio of 7.89.

Insider Transactions at Ionis Pharmaceuticals

In other Ionis Pharmaceuticals news, Director Allene M. Diaz sold 10,111 shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $85.42, for a total transaction of $863,681.62. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 3,811 shares in the company, valued at approximately $325,535.62. The trade was a 72.63% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, EVP Holly B. Kordasiewicz sold 362 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $84.30, for a total value of $30,516.60. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 22,096 shares in the company, valued at $1,862,692.80. This trade represents a 1.61% 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. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 233,163 shares of company stock worth $18,316,551. Company insiders own 1.81% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Ionis Pharmaceuticals

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of IONS. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. purchased a new stake in Ionis Pharmaceuticals during the 4th quarter valued at about $27,000. Cassaday & Co Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals in the first quarter worth approximately $30,000. Quarry LP bought a new position in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals in the third quarter worth approximately $38,000. Hilton Head Capital Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $47,000. Finally, Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $47,000. 93.86% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.