Holly Kordasiewicz Sells 362 Shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:IONS) Stock

Key Points

• Ionis Pharmaceuticals EVP Holly Kordasiewicz sold 362 shares on July 7 at an average price of $84.30, totaling about $30,517. After the sale, she still held 22,096 shares worth roughly $1.86 million.
• The stock fell sharply to $64.27 on Thursday, with unusually heavy trading volume. Shares are still below their 52-week high of $86.74 but well above the 52-week low of $40.03.
• Investor sentiment was pressured by a late-stage trial failure for AstraZeneca and Ionis’ eplontersen in CARDIO-TTRansform, which missed its primary efficacy endpoint. Despite that setback, several analysts still rate the stock a buy or outperform, with a consensus target around $100.80.

Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:IONS - Get Free Report) EVP Holly Kordasiewicz sold 362 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $84.30, for a total transaction of $30,516.60. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 22,096 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,862,692.80. The trade was a 1.61% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan.

Ionis Pharmaceuticals Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:IONS traded down $20.19 on Thursday, reaching $64.27. The company's stock had a trading volume of 20,428,096 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,226,933. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $76.27 and a 200 day simple moving average of $77.51. Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. has a 52-week low of $40.03 and a 52-week high of $86.74. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.75, a quick ratio of 4.09 and a current ratio of 4.10. The company has a market cap of $10.62 billion, a P/E ratio of -31.05 and a beta of 0.36.

Ionis Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:IONS - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The company reported ($0.56) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.85) by $0.29. The firm had revenue of $246.09 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $195.56 million. Ionis Pharmaceuticals had a negative net margin of 30.91% and a negative return on equity of 58.65%. The business's revenue was up 86.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned ($0.93) EPS. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. will post -3.69 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Trending Headlines about Ionis Pharmaceuticals

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

• Neutral Sentiment: Needham & Company cut its price target on Ionis to $86 from $105, but kept a buy rating, implying upside from current levels despite the setback. Benzinga
• Neutral Sentiment: Options activity surged, with traders buying far more puts than usual, suggesting investors were hedging for further downside after the trial news.
• Negative Sentiment: AstraZeneca and Ionis reported that the late-stage CARDIO-TTRansform study for eplontersen failed to meet its primary efficacy endpoint, a major negative for the partnership and the drug’s future prospects. Business Wire
• Negative Sentiment: Reuters and other outlets reported the trial failure as a broader setback for AstraZeneca-Ionis and highlighted investor concern that the drug missed a key heart-disease goal. Reuters

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms recently weighed in on IONS. Jefferies Financial Group decreased their price target on Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $113.00 to $90.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday. Barclays lifted their price objective on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $106.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, May 2nd. Canaccord Genuity Group started coverage on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals in a report on Monday, April 20th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $110.00 target price for the company. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their price target on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $95.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have given 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 currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $100.80.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Ionis Pharmaceuticals

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Jain Global LLC boosted its stake in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 3,037.4% during the third quarter. Jain Global LLC now owns 225,739 shares of the company's stock valued at $14,768,000 after purchasing an additional 218,544 shares in the last quarter. DAVENPORT & Co LLC raised its stake in Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 248.3% in the fourth quarter. DAVENPORT & Co LLC now owns 217,897 shares of the company's stock worth $17,238,000 after buying an additional 155,334 shares in the last quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. raised its stake in Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 230.4% in the third quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. now owns 878,155 shares of the company's stock worth $57,449,000 after buying an additional 612,362 shares in the last quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC lifted its holdings in Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 548.7% during the fourth quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 33,409 shares of the company's stock worth $2,643,000 after buying an additional 28,259 shares during the period. Finally, China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. lifted its holdings in Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 51.7% during the fourth quarter. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 42,394 shares of the company's stock worth $3,354,000 after buying an additional 14,455 shares during the period. 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.

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