Elizabeth Hougen Sells 49,800 Shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:IONS) Stock

Key Points

• Elizabeth Hougen, EVP of Ionis Pharmaceuticals, sold 49,800 shares of stock at an average price of $65.26, reducing her holdings by over 31% to approximately 110,500 shares.
• Ionis Pharmaceuticals reported a quarterly earnings beat with an EPS of $0.70, significantly higher than the estimated $0.19, and a revenue increase of 100.9% year-over-year.
• Recent analyst activity has been positive, with several firms upgrading Ionis Pharmaceuticals' stock ratings and price targets, indicating a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" with an average price target of $73.88.

Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:IONS - Get Free Report) EVP Elizabeth Hougen sold 49,800 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $65.26, for a total transaction of $3,249,948.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 110,500 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $7,211,230. This trade represents a 31.07% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website.

Ionis Pharmaceuticals Price Performance

Shares of IONS traded up $0.38 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $65.80. 2,222,136 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,947,074. Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. has a 1-year low of $23.95 and a 1-year high of $66.25. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.99, a quick ratio of 2.86 and a current ratio of 2.87. The company has a 50 day moving average of $50.72 and a 200-day moving average of $39.91. The stock has a market cap of $10.49 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -35.76 and a beta of 0.28.

Ionis Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:IONS - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 30th. The company reported $0.70 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.19 by $0.51. The company had revenue of $452.00 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $270.90 million. Ionis Pharmaceuticals had a negative net margin of 28.25% and a negative return on equity of 45.29%. Ionis Pharmaceuticals's quarterly revenue was up 100.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned ($0.45) EPS. Ionis Pharmaceuticals has set its FY 2025 guidance at EPS. Analysts expect that Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. will post -3.5 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

IONS has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. BMO Capital Markets upgraded shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and increased their price objective for the company from $40.00 to $70.00 in a report on Wednesday, September 3rd. Bank of America increased their price objective on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $81.00 to $83.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, September 23rd. Citigroup increased their price objective on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $69.00 to $84.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, September 3rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $48.00 to $49.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Monday, August 25th. Finally, HC Wainwright restated a "buy" rating and set a $95.00 price target on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals in a report on Tuesday, September 23rd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have issued a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $73.88.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Ionis Pharmaceuticals

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. CWM LLC boosted its position in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 18.7% during the 1st quarter. CWM LLC now owns 2,435 shares of the company's stock worth $73,000 after purchasing an additional 384 shares during the period. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 3.9% during the 2nd quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 11,411 shares of the company's stock worth $451,000 after purchasing an additional 424 shares during the period. Signaturefd LLC boosted its position in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 45.6% during the 1st quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 1,382 shares of the company's stock worth $42,000 after purchasing an additional 433 shares during the period. Fifth Third Bancorp boosted its position in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 4.8% during the 1st quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 9,989 shares of the company's stock worth $301,000 after purchasing an additional 458 shares during the period. Finally, Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. boosted its position in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 8.5% during the 1st quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 6,135 shares of the company's stock worth $185,000 after purchasing an additional 481 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.86% of the company's stock.

Ionis Pharmaceuticals Company Profile

Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc discovers and develops RNA-targeted therapeutics in the United States. The company offers SPINRAZA for spinal muscular atrophy (SMA) in pediatric and adult patients; TEGSEDI, an antisense injection for the treatment of polyneuropathy caused by hereditary transthyretin amyloidosis in adults; and WAYLIVRA, an antisense medicine for treatment for familial chylomicronemia syndrome (FCS) and familial partial lipodystrophy.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat's editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.