C Frank Bennett Sells 85,089 Shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:IONS) Stock

Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:IONS) EVP C Frank Bennett sold 85,089 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $79.23, for a total value of $6,741,601.47. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 80,554 shares in the company, valued at $6,382,293.42. This trade represents a 51.37% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website.

C Frank Bennett also recently made the following trade(s):

• On Monday, February 2nd, C Frank Bennett sold 85,089 shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $82.93, for a total value of $7,056,430.77.
• On Friday, January 30th, C Frank Bennett sold 5,885 shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $82.95, for a total transaction of $488,160.75.
• On Friday, January 30th, C Frank Bennett sold 5,885 shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $82.95, for a total transaction of $488,160.75.
• On Friday, January 16th, C Frank Bennett sold 8,977 shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $75.15, for a total value of $674,621.55.

Ionis Pharmaceuticals Stock Down 5.4%

NASDAQ IONS traded down $4.29 during trading on Thursday, reaching $75.16. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 2,969,718 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,316,031. The stock has a market capitalization of $12.42 billion, a PE ratio of -30.80 and a beta of 0.31. Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. has a 1-year low of $23.95 and a 1-year high of $86.74. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $81.29 and a 200-day moving average price of $72.89. The company has a current ratio of 3.83, a quick ratio of 3.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.76.

Ionis Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:IONS) last released 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 the consensus estimate of $156.07 million. Ionis Pharmaceuticals had a negative net margin of 40.36% and a negative return on equity of 68.82%. The firm’s revenue was down 10.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned ($0.66) earnings per share. On average, research analysts forecast that Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. will post -3.5 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Steigerwald Gordon & Koch Inc. acquired a new stake in Ionis Pharmaceuticals in the third quarter worth about $25,000. Golden State Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 198.4% in the third quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC now owns 376 shares of the company’s stock valued at $25,000 after acquiring an additional 250 shares during the last quarter. Mather Group LLC. acquired a new stake in Ionis Pharmaceuticals during the 3rd quarter worth $27,000. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. acquired a new position in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals in the 4th quarter valued at $27,000. Finally, Allworth Financial LP lifted its stake in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 231.8% in the 2nd quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 740 shares of the company’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 517 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.86% of the company’s stock.

Key Ionis Pharmaceuticals News

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

• Positive Sentiment: Leerink Partners raised its price target on IONS to $104, a bullish signal that can support the stock. Leerink Raises PT
• Positive Sentiment: H.C. Wainwright maintained a “Buy” rating and a $110 price target while updating EPS forecasts (mixed quarter-by-quarter changes but a modestly improved FY2026 view), which can underpin longer-term investor confidence. HC Wainwright Buy
• Neutral Sentiment: HC Wainwright published detailed EPS revisions for FY2026 and quarterly estimates (some quarters revised up, Q4 trimmed versus a prior view); the net impact is modestly positive for estimates but reflects continued negative EPS expectations for the year. HC Wainwright Estimates
• Negative Sentiment: EVP C. Frank Bennett sold 85,089 shares at an average ~$79.23 (≈$6.74M), cutting his stake by ~51%. Large insider selling can signal liquidity-taking or reduced insider conviction and often pressures the stock. Bennett SEC Filing
• Negative Sentiment: EVP Shannon L. Devers sold 20,106 shares at an average ~$79.40 (~$1.60M), reducing her position by ~47%, another notable insider exit. Devers SEC Filing
• Negative Sentiment: Director Allene M. Diaz sold 54,878 shares at an average ~$79.35 (~$4.35M), leaving a very small residual holding (≈93.5% reduction), which is a material reduction from board-level ownership. Diaz SEC Filing
• Negative Sentiment: Biogen announced upcoming presentations of new SMA data (high‑dose nusinersen, salanersen) — positive news for Biogen that could increase competitive pressure in SMA, an area relevant to Ionis’ pipeline. Biogen SMA Data

Analyst Ratings Changes

IONS has been the topic of several recent research reports. Weiss Ratings reissued a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals in a report on Thursday, January 22nd. Leerink Partners boosted their price target on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $102.00 to $104.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday. Needham & Company LLC lifted their target price on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $90.00 to $103.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 25th. Piper Sandler boosted their price target on Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $87.00 to $100.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, February 27th. Finally, TD Cowen reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Wednesday, December 3rd. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have issued a Buy rating, three have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Ionis Pharmaceuticals currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $89.00.

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.