Key Points
- Shannon Devers, Ionis EVP, sold 44,199 shares on Jan. 7 at an average price of $85.08 for proceeds of about $3.76 million, leaving her with 17,494 shares (a 71.64% reduction in ownership).
- Ionis stock is trading lower (opened $80.30) with a market cap around $13.01B; analysts give a consensus Moderate Buy with an average target of $87.05 and several firms raising targets into the $90–$100 range after the company beat EPS estimates (-$0.80 vs. -$1.15) and reported 17.2% revenue growth.
Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:IONS - Get Free Report) EVP Shannon Devers sold 44,199 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, January 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $85.08, for a total transaction of $3,760,450.92. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 17,494 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,488,389.52. This represents a 71.64% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink.
Ionis Pharmaceuticals Trading Down 1.5%
NASDAQ:IONS opened at $80.30 on Friday. Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. has a 12 month low of $23.95 and a 12 month high of $86.15. The company has a current ratio of 2.79, a quick ratio of 2.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.96. The firm's 50 day moving average is $78.16 and its 200 day moving average is $62.19. The stock has a market capitalization of $13.01 billion, a PE ratio of -47.51 and a beta of 0.28.
Ionis Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:IONS - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, October 29th. The company reported ($0.80) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of ($1.15) by $0.35. The business had revenue of $156.72 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $131.75 million. Ionis Pharmaceuticals had a negative return on equity of 44.26% and a negative net margin of 26.45%.The business's revenue for the quarter was up 17.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business posted ($0.95) earnings per share. Sell-side analysts expect that Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. will post -3.5 earnings per share for the current year.
Hedge Funds Weigh In On Ionis Pharmaceuticals
Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in IONS. CWM LLC grew its holdings in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 7.3% during the third quarter. CWM LLC now owns 2,488 shares of the company's stock worth $163,000 after purchasing an additional 170 shares in the last quarter. Wedmont Private Capital grew its stake in Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 3.2% in the 4th quarter. Wedmont Private Capital now owns 5,536 shares of the company's stock worth $460,000 after buying an additional 173 shares in the last quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 198.4% in the 3rd quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC now owns 376 shares of the company's stock worth $25,000 after buying an additional 250 shares in the last quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio increased its holdings in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 0.6% in the 3rd quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio now owns 48,545 shares of the company's stock worth $3,176,000 after buying an additional 301 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Steigerwald Gordon & Koch Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals during the 3rd quarter valued at $25,000. 93.86% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.
Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth
Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Leerink Partners lifted their target price on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $85.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Monday, December 15th. Barclays raised their price objective on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $80.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, October 30th. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $90.00 to $94.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, October 30th. Guggenheim increased their target price on Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $90.00 to $92.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 23rd. Finally, Needham & Company LLC lifted their price target on Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $78.00 to $90.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, October 30th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seventeen have given a Buy rating, three have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $87.05.
Check Out Our Latest Research Report on Ionis Pharmaceuticals
Ionis Pharmaceuticals Company Profile
(
Get Free Report)
Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc is a biotechnology company focused on the discovery and development of RNA-targeted therapies designed to modulate gene expression. The company's proprietary antisense oligonucleotide (ASO) technology enables the selective binding of short synthetic strands of nucleic acids to messenger RNA (mRNA), thereby inhibiting or altering the production of disease-causing proteins. Ionis' pipeline spans a range of therapeutic areas, including neurological disorders, cardiovascular conditions, metabolic diseases and rare genetic disorders.
Since its founding in 1989 by Dr.
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