Ionis Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:IONS) EVP Sells $959,010.36 in Stock

Key Points

• EVP Patrick O'neil of Ionis Pharmaceuticals sold 14,827 shares at an average price of $64.68, totaling $959,010.36, which decreased his ownership by 20.61%.
• Ions Pharmaceuticals reported a strong earnings per share of $0.70 for the last quarter, significantly surpassing estimates and marking a 100.9% revenue increase year-over-year.
• Brokerages have raised their target prices for Ionis Pharmaceuticals, with Citigroup now setting a target of $84.00 and several firms issuing buy or outperform ratings.

Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:IONS - Get Free Report) EVP Patrick O'neil sold 14,827 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $64.68, for a total value of $959,010.36. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 57,130 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,695,168.40. This represents a 20.61% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink.

Ionis Pharmaceuticals Stock Performance

Shares of IONS stock traded up $0.38 on Wednesday, hitting $65.80. 2,222,136 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,947,074. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.99, a current ratio of 2.87 and a quick ratio of 2.86. The company has a market capitalization of $10.49 billion, a PE ratio of -35.76 and a beta of 0.28. Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. has a 1-year low of $23.95 and a 1-year high of $66.25. The company's fifty day moving average is $50.72 and its 200 day moving average is $39.91.

Ionis Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:IONS - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, July 30th. The company reported $0.70 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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 firm had revenue of $452.00 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $270.90 million. During the same period last year, the company earned ($0.45) earnings per share. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 100.9% on a year-over-year basis. Ionis Pharmaceuticals has set its FY 2025 guidance at EPS. On average, equities research analysts predict that Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. will post -3.5 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have weighed in on IONS. Citigroup increased their target price on Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $69.00 to $84.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 3rd. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $77.00 to $82.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, August 22nd. Royal Bank Of Canada raised their price target on Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $70.00 to $80.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, September 4th. Raymond James Financial set a $75.00 price target on Ionis Pharmaceuticals and gave the company a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Monday, September 22nd. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group raised their price target on Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $83.00 to $96.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, September 2nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have given a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $73.88.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Exome Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 121.0% during 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. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its holdings in Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 3,786.5% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 28,993 shares of the company's stock worth $961,000 after acquiring an additional 28,247 shares during the period. Raymond James Financial Inc. grew its holdings in Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 40.8% during the first quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. now owns 148,690 shares of the company's stock worth $4,486,000 after acquiring an additional 43,071 shares during the period. Fifth Third Bancorp grew its holdings in Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 4.8% during the first quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 9,989 shares of the company's stock worth $301,000 after acquiring an additional 458 shares during the period. Finally, Edmond DE Rothschild Holding S.A. acquired a new position in Ionis Pharmaceuticals during the first quarter worth about $3,747,000. 93.86% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.

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