Ionis Pharmaceuticals Target of Unusually Large Options Trading (NASDAQ:IONS)

Key Points

• Ionis Pharmaceuticals experienced a 218% increase in call options trading volume, with 2,862 call options purchased, indicating heightened investor interest.
• Several analysts have upgraded their ratings and price targets for the stock, with targets ranging from $55.00 to $70.00, reflecting strong bullish sentiment in the market.
• Insider trading included significant stock sales by CEO Brett P. Monia and Director B Lynne Parshall, with both reporting decreases in their share ownership.

Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:IONS - Get Free Report) saw unusually large options trading activity on Wednesday. Stock traders bought 2,862 call options on the stock. Thisisanincreaseof218% compared to the average daily volume of 899 call options.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

IONS has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $55.00 target price on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Monday. Morgan Stanley upgraded shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $55.00 to $62.00 in a research report on Thursday, July 31st. HC Wainwright boosted their price objective on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $65.00 to $70.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, August 22nd. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Saturday, August 16th. Finally, Citigroup boosted their price objective on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $65.00 to $69.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, August 22nd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have assigned a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $59.64.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Brett P. Monia sold 2,432 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $45.00, for a total value of $109,440.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 179,820 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $8,091,900. This trade represents a 1.33% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director B Lynne Parshall sold 5,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $41.93, for a total transaction of $209,650.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 86,344 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,620,403.92. This trade represents a 5.47% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 39,568 shares of company stock worth $1,705,296 in the last 90 days. 2.71% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Ionis Pharmaceuticals

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. grew its stake in Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 253.3% during the second quarter. Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. now owns 3,800,000 shares of the company's stock valued at $150,138,000 after acquiring an additional 2,724,400 shares in the last quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 14.2% in the 1st quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. now owns 16,175,533 shares of the company's stock worth $488,016,000 after buying an additional 2,006,334 shares in the last quarter. BVF Inc. IL purchased a new position in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals in the 1st quarter worth $57,727,000. Vestal Point Capital LP purchased a new position in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals in the 4th quarter worth $20,801,000. Finally, Orbimed Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 21.2% in the 4th quarter. Orbimed Advisors LLC now owns 2,817,347 shares of the company's stock worth $98,494,000 after buying an additional 492,900 shares in the last quarter. 93.86% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Ionis Pharmaceuticals Stock Up 1.1%

Shares of NASDAQ IONS traded up $0.45 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $42.62. The stock had a trading volume of 239,647 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,760,872. The business's 50 day moving average is $41.63 and its 200-day moving average is $35.26. The company has a market cap of $6.79 billion, a P/E ratio of -23.16 and a beta of 0.25. Ionis Pharmaceuticals has a 52 week low of $23.95 and a 52 week high of $50.43. The company has a quick ratio of 2.86, a current ratio of 2.87 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.99.

Ionis Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:IONS - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, July 30th. The company reported $0.70 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.19 by $0.51. The firm had revenue of $452.00 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $270.90 million. Ionis Pharmaceuticals had a negative net margin of 28.25% and a negative return on equity of 45.29%. The business's revenue was up 100.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted ($0.45) earnings per share. Ionis Pharmaceuticals has set its FY 2025 guidance at EPS. As a group, analysts predict that Ionis Pharmaceuticals will post -3.5 EPS for the current year.

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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