Key Points
- CEO Brett Monia sold 34,103 shares on March 10 at an average price of $75.92 for a total of $2,589,099.76, reducing his holdings by 12.32% to 242,662 shares (≈$18.42M).
- Ionis reported Q4 EPS of ($1.41) versus consensus ($1.23) despite revenue of $203.33M beating estimates, the company has a negative net margin (~40%) and the stock carries a consensus analyst rating of "Moderate Buy" with a $89 target.
Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:IONS - Get Free Report) EVP Patrick O'neil sold 10,148 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Monday, March 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $75.25, for a total transaction of $763,637.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 62,211 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,681,377.75. This trade represents a 14.02% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link.
Ionis Pharmaceuticals Price Performance
Shares of NASDAQ IONS traded down $0.63 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $74.16. 104,462 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,280,719. Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. has a 52 week low of $23.95 and a 52 week high of $86.74. The company's 50 day moving average price is $80.82 and its 200 day moving average price is $74.01. The stock has a market capitalization of $12.25 billion, a PE ratio of -30.32 and a beta of 0.31. The company has a quick ratio of 3.81, a current ratio of 3.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.76.
Ionis Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:IONS - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, February 25th. The company reported ($1.41) EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of ($1.23) by ($0.18). Ionis Pharmaceuticals had a negative net margin of 40.36% and a negative return on equity of 68.82%. The firm had revenue of $203.33 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $156.07 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned ($0.66) EPS. The firm's revenue was down 10.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts forecast that Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. will post -3.5 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.
Wall Street Analyst Weigh In
A number of brokerages recently weighed in on IONS. Needham & Company LLC raised their price objective on Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $90.00 to $103.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, February 25th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $82.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday, January 5th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a "sell (d-)" rating on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Thursday, January 22nd. Barclays began coverage on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Wednesday, January 28th. They set an "overweight" rating and a $95.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Saturday, February 28th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have issued a Buy rating, three have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $89.00.
Read Our Latest Research Report on Ionis Pharmaceuticals
Institutional Trading of Ionis Pharmaceuticals
Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Steigerwald Gordon & Koch Inc. bought a new position in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals in the third quarter worth approximately $25,000. Golden State Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 198.4% in the third quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC now owns 376 shares of the company's stock worth $25,000 after buying an additional 250 shares during the period. Mather Group LLC. bought a new stake in Ionis Pharmaceuticals during the 3rd quarter valued at $27,000. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. purchased a new stake in Ionis Pharmaceuticals during the 4th quarter valued at $27,000. Finally, Allworth Financial LP boosted its position in Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 231.8% during the 2nd quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 740 shares of the company's stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 517 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.86% of the company's stock.
Key Ionis Pharmaceuticals News
Here are the key news stories impacting Ionis Pharmaceuticals this week:
- Positive Sentiment: Multiple sell‑side firms recently raised price targets and kept bullish ratings (Leerink, Needham, Morgan Stanley, Piper Sandler), supporting longer‑term upside expectations for Ionis. MarketBeat IONS coverage
- Positive Sentiment: Large institutional buying: Capital World Investors and others materially increased holdings last quarter (Capital World Investors added >5.2M shares), signalling strong institutional conviction in the company’s pipeline and longer‑term thesis. MarketBeat IONS coverage
- Neutral Sentiment: Management presented at the Barclays 28th Annual Global Healthcare Conference; transcript is available — presentations can be a source of guidance/pipeline color but no headline corporate actions were reported in the transcript summary provided. Barclays conference transcript
- Negative Sentiment: Significant insider selling by the CEO: filings show Brett Monia sold 126,670 shares on Mar 9 (~$9.53M at ~$75.20) and 34,103 shares on Mar 10 (~$2.59M at ~$75.92). Combined, the CEO disposed of ~160,773 shares across the two days — a material reduction and a negative near‑term sentiment signal. CEO SEC filing
- Negative Sentiment: Additional executive selling: EVP Kyle Jenne sold 37,277 shares (~$2.83M at ~$75.85) and EVP Patrick R. O'Neil sold 10,148 shares (~$763.6k at ~$75.25). Multiple senior execs trimming positions in the same window increases selling pressure and raises short‑term caution for investors. EVP Kyle Jenne SEC filing
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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