Insider Selling: Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:IONS) CEO Sells 1,160 Shares of Stock

Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:IONS - Get Free Report) CEO Brett P. Monia sold 1,160 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, July 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $41.74, for a total value of $48,418.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 179,820 shares in the company, valued at $7,505,686.80. The trade was a 0.64% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website.

Ionis Pharmaceuticals Price Performance

Shares of IONS traded down $0.60 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $42.17. The stock had a trading volume of 1,996,392 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,623,752. Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. has a 12 month low of $23.95 and a 12 month high of $52.34. The stock has a market capitalization of $6.71 billion, a PE ratio of -14.10 and a beta of 0.23. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.63, a quick ratio of 9.62 and a current ratio of 9.66. The company's 50-day moving average is $37.11 and its two-hundred day moving average is $33.53.

Ionis Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:IONS - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The company reported ($0.93) EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of ($1.07) by $0.14. Ionis Pharmaceuticals had a negative return on equity of 91.85% and a negative net margin of 63.65%. The company had revenue of $132.00 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $144.31 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned ($0.98) EPS. Ionis Pharmaceuticals's revenue was up 10.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts expect that Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. will post -3.5 EPS for the current year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on IONS shares. HC Wainwright reissued a "buy" rating and set a $50.00 price target on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Thursday, June 26th. Redburn Atlantic started coverage on Ionis Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Monday, March 31st. They set a "neutral" rating and a $39.00 price target on the stock. Barclays raised Ionis Pharmaceuticals from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and increased their price target for the stock from $51.00 to $57.00 in a research report on Tuesday, July 1st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $45.00 to $48.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday, June 12th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC reduced their price target on Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $60.00 to $55.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 30th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating, twelve have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $57.13.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of IONS. Signaturefd LLC raised its position in Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 160.0% during the 4th quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 949 shares of the company's stock worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 584 shares during the last quarter. Huntington National Bank raised its position in Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 193.5% during the 4th quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 951 shares of the company's stock worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 627 shares during the last quarter. Ancora Advisors LLC bought a new position in Ionis Pharmaceuticals during the 1st quarter worth $60,000. Raiffeisen Bank International AG bought a new position in Ionis Pharmaceuticals during the 4th quarter worth $62,000. Finally, CWM LLC raised its position in 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 last quarter. 93.86% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.