Key Points
- EVP Shannon Devers sold 3,977 shares on Jan. 22 at an average price of $81.34 for a total of $323,489.18, cutting her stake by about 15% to 22,541 shares (≈$1.83M).
- The sale is part of a broader wave of insider dispositions by several senior executives that could pressure the stock near-term, even as analysts largely rate Ionis a "Moderate Buy" with a consensus target of $86.45 and recent upgraded price targets.
Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:IONS - Get Free Report) EVP Shannon Devers sold 3,977 shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $81.34, for a total value of $323,489.18. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 22,541 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,833,484.94. This represents a 15.00% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website.
Ionis Pharmaceuticals Trading Down 2.1%
NASDAQ:IONS opened at $80.04 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $12.96 billion, a P/E ratio of -47.36 and a beta of 0.28. Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. has a twelve month low of $23.95 and a twelve month high of $86.15. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $79.44 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $64.82. The company has a quick ratio of 2.78, a current ratio of 2.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.96.
Ionis Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:IONS - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 29th. The company reported ($0.80) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of ($1.15) by $0.35. Ionis Pharmaceuticals had a negative net margin of 26.45% and a negative return on equity of 44.26%. The company had revenue of $156.72 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $131.75 million. During the same period last year, the company earned ($0.95) earnings per share. The firm's revenue was up 17.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts expect that Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. will post -3.5 EPS for the current fiscal year.
Institutional Inflows and Outflows
A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 72.5% during the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 652,518 shares of the company's stock valued at $19,686,000 after purchasing an additional 274,310 shares during the last quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC raised its position in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 6.4% in the first quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 659,435 shares of the company's stock valued at $19,895,000 after purchasing an additional 39,794 shares during the period. Focus Partners Wealth lifted its stake in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 30.1% during the 1st quarter. Focus Partners Wealth now owns 9,832 shares of the company's stock worth $297,000 after buying an additional 2,277 shares during the last quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 151.3% during the 2nd quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 1,872 shares of the company's stock worth $74,000 after buying an additional 1,127 shares during the period. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. bought a new stake in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals during the 2nd quarter worth about $698,000. 93.86% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.
Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades
Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Bank of America raised their price objective on Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $86.00 to $97.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, December 9th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $82.00 to $100.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday, January 5th. Raymond James Financial reaffirmed a "strong-buy" rating and set a $89.00 price target (up previously from $85.00) on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Thursday, October 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised Ionis Pharmaceuticals from a "neutral" rating to an "overweight" rating and increased their price objective for the company from $49.00 to $80.00 in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Finally, TD Cowen reissued a "buy" rating on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Wednesday, December 3rd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have given a Buy rating, three have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $86.45.
Get Our Latest Stock Report on IONS
More Ionis Pharmaceuticals News
Here are the key news stories impacting Ionis Pharmaceuticals this week:
- Positive Sentiment: EU approval for Dawnzera (hereditary angioedema) expands Ionis’ commercial footprint after the prior U.S. clearance, increasing potential revenue and reinforcing the drug’s global launch narrative. This regulatory milestone supports longer-term sales upside and de-risks a marketed asset. Ionis' Dawnzera Gets EU Approval for Hereditary Angioedema
- Negative Sentiment: Multiple insiders filed sales of Ionis shares today (large aggregate volumes from senior staff), which can be interpreted as profit-taking or signal reduced insider conviction and may pressure the stock in the near term. Key filings reported include sales by Brett Monia (44,034 shares), Elizabeth Hougen (12,922), Patrick O'Neil (9,191), Eugene Schneider (9,302), C. Frank Bennett (8,977), Brian Birchler (8,480), Shannon Devers (8,353), and two earlier smaller transactions. These are sizeable individual dispositions and bear watching for follow-on selling or the stated reasons in the filings (e.g., diversification, tax, option exercises).
Brett Monia Sells 44,034 Shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:IONS) Stock
Elizabeth Hougen Sells 12,922 Shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:IONS) Stock
Patrick O'neil Sells 9,191 Shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:IONS) Stock
Eugene Schneider Sells 9,302 Shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:IONS) Stock
C Frank Bennett Sells 8,977 Shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:IONS) Stock
Brian Birchler Sells 8,480 Shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:IONS) Stock
Shannon Devers Sells 8,353 Shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:IONS) Stock
Kyle Jenne Sells 1,823 Shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:IONS) Stock
Holly Kordasiewicz Sells 4,141 Shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:IONS) Stock
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.
Recommended Stories

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from InsiderTrades.com in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. Please send any questions or comments about this story to [email protected].