Insider Selling: Ionis Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:IONS) EVP Sells 6,000 Shares of Stock

Key Points

• Ionis Pharmaceuticals' EVP Shannon Devers sold 6,000 shares at an average price of $72.94, totaling $437,640, which decreased their ownership by 27.35%.
• The company's stock traded up 0.9% to $73.07 on Thursday, with a one-year trading range of $23.95 to $74.42 and a market capitalization of $11.65 billion.
• Ionis Pharmaceuticals had a strong earnings report with a 100.9% revenue increase year-over-year, reporting $452 million, and beating estimates significantly.

Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:IONS - Get Free Report) EVP Shannon Devers sold 6,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, October 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $72.94, for a total value of $437,640.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 15,937 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,162,444.78. This trade represents a 27.35% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website.

Ionis Pharmaceuticals Trading Up 0.9%

Shares of NASDAQ:IONS traded up $0.68 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $73.07. 1,739,508 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,206,730. Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. has a 1 year low of $23.95 and a 1 year high of $74.42. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $57.36 and a 200-day moving average price of $42.97. The firm has a market capitalization of $11.65 billion, a P/E ratio of -39.71 and a beta of 0.33. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.99, a current ratio of 2.87 and a quick ratio of 2.86.

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

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Ionis Pharmaceuticals

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Exome Asset Management LLC raised its position in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 121.0% in the first quarter. Exome Asset Management LLC now owns 135,616 shares of the company's stock worth $4,092,000 after acquiring an additional 74,249 shares during the period. Raymond James Financial Inc. raised its holdings in Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 40.8% in the 1st quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. now owns 148,690 shares of the company's stock valued at $4,486,000 after acquiring an additional 43,071 shares during the last quarter. Wedmont Private Capital acquired a new stake in Ionis Pharmaceuticals in the 2nd quarter valued at about $226,000. Fifth Third Bancorp increased its holdings 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 buying an additional 458 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Edmond DE Rothschild Holding S.A. purchased a new stake in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $3,747,000. 93.86% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have issued reports on IONS shares. Citigroup boosted their target price on Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $69.00 to $84.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 3rd. The Goldman Sachs Group raised shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals from a "sell" rating to a "neutral" rating and lifted their price target for the company from $45.00 to $65.00 in a research note on Friday, September 26th. Guggenheim lifted their price target on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $90.00 to $92.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 23rd. Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their price target on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $70.00 to $80.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, September 4th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price target on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $43.00 to $67.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, October 6th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have issued a Buy rating, three have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $78.50.

About Ionis Pharmaceuticals

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.

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