Stock Traders Purchase High Volume of Ionis Pharmaceuticals Call Options (NASDAQ:IONS)

Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:IONS - Get Free Report) was the target of some unusual options trading on Monday. Investors bought 5,610 call options on the company. This is an increase of approximately 1,252% compared to the average daily volume of 415 call options.

Ionis Pharmaceuticals Trading Up 0.4 %

NASDAQ:IONS traded up $0.13 on Friday, reaching $29.70. 1,015,576 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,531,562. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.72 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -9.77 and a beta of 0.29. Ionis Pharmaceuticals has a 52-week low of $23.95 and a 52-week high of $52.34. The company has a quick ratio of 8.82, a current ratio of 8.47 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.12. The business has a fifty day moving average of $30.68 and a 200-day moving average of $33.90.

Ionis Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:IONS - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, February 19th. The company reported ($0.66) earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($1.12) by $0.46. Ionis Pharmaceuticals had a negative net margin of 64.25% and a negative return on equity of 100.05%. The firm had revenue of $227.00 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $140.97 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.12 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was down 30.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts expect that Ionis Pharmaceuticals will post -3.5 earnings per share for the current year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

IONS has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Redburn Atlantic assumed coverage on Ionis Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Monday, March 31st. They set a "neutral" rating and a $39.00 price objective on the stock. Needham & Company LLC restated a "buy" rating and set a $60.00 price objective on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Tuesday, April 15th. BMO Capital Markets reduced their target price on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $60.00 to $45.00 and set a "market perform" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, February 20th. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an "outperform" rating and issued a $70.00 price target on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Thursday, February 20th. Finally, Guggenheim reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Thursday, April 3rd. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating, eleven have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Ionis Pharmaceuticals has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $56.72.

Insider Buying and Selling at Ionis Pharmaceuticals

In other news, EVP Patrick R. O'neil sold 6,165 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $31.62, for a total value of $194,937.30. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 57,452 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,816,632.24. This trade represents a 9.69 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Brett P. Monia sold 38,843 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $31.65, for a total transaction of $1,229,380.95. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 180,683 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $5,718,616.95. This represents a 17.69 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 63,167 shares of company stock valued at $2,010,458 over the last quarter. 2.71% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Capital World Investors raised its position in Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 46.5% in the 4th quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 11,465,413 shares of the company's stock valued at $400,831,000 after purchasing an additional 3,637,041 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals during the fourth quarter worth approximately $59,948,000. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 9.4% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 16,472,539 shares of the company's stock valued at $575,880,000 after acquiring an additional 1,416,781 shares in the last quarter. Vestal Point Capital LP purchased a new position in Ionis Pharmaceuticals in the fourth quarter worth approximately $20,801,000. Finally, Orbimed Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 21.2% during the 4th quarter. Orbimed Advisors LLC now owns 2,817,347 shares of the company's stock worth $98,494,000 after acquiring an additional 492,900 shares in the last quarter. 93.86% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other 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.