Key Points
- Ionis Pharmaceuticals EVP Eugene Schneider sold 26,000 shares on June 26 at an average price of $81.05, generating about $2.11 million in proceeds. The sale reduced his direct ownership by 25.21% and was made under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 plan.
- IONS shares were down 1.6% in Wednesday trading, opening at $79.37, while the stock remains near its 52-week high of $86.74. The company has a market cap of $13.12 billion and a 12-month low of $39.72.
- Ionis recently reported better-than-expected quarterly results, with EPS of -$0.56 versus the -$0.85 consensus and revenue of $246.09 million, up 86.4% year over year. Analysts remain broadly positive, with a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of $102.90.
Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:IONS - Get Free Report) EVP Patrick O'neil sold 3,069 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $80.00, for a total value of $245,520.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 61,470 shares in the company, valued at $4,917,600. The trade was a 4.76% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan.
Ionis Pharmaceuticals Trading Down 1.6%
Shares of IONS stock opened at $79.37 on Wednesday. The company has a market cap of $13.12 billion, a PE ratio of -38.34 and a beta of 0.37. Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. has a 1 year low of $39.72 and a 1 year high of $86.74. The stock's 50 day simple moving average is $75.21 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $77.35. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.75, a current ratio of 4.10 and a quick ratio of 4.09.
Ionis Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:IONS - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The company reported ($0.56) earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.85) by $0.29. Ionis Pharmaceuticals had a negative return on equity of 58.65% and a negative net margin of 30.91%.The firm had revenue of $246.09 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $195.56 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted ($0.93) EPS. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 86.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts predict that Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. will post -3.69 earnings per share for the current year.
Analysts Set New Price Targets
Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Oppenheimer restated an "outperform" rating and issued a $111.00 target price on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals in a report on Thursday, April 30th. Barclays upped their price target on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $106.00 to $115.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, April 30th. Royal Bank Of Canada increased their price objective on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $95.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. Leerink Partners raised their price objective on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $122.00 to $129.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, June 25th. Finally, Citigroup initiated coverage on Ionis Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Monday, May 18th. They set a "buy" rating and a $115.00 target price for the company. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have given a Buy rating, two have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $102.90.
Read Our Latest Analysis on IONS
Institutional Trading of Ionis Pharmaceuticals
A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Grandfield & Dodd LLC grew its holdings in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 0.4% in the fourth quarter. Grandfield & Dodd LLC now owns 37,821 shares of the company's stock worth $2,992,000 after purchasing an additional 146 shares during the last quarter. Checchi Capital Advisers LLC lifted its holdings in Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 3.7% during the 1st quarter. Checchi Capital Advisers LLC now owns 4,429 shares of the company's stock valued at $333,000 after buying an additional 157 shares in the last quarter. Wedmont Private Capital boosted its position in Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 3.2% in the 4th quarter. Wedmont Private Capital now owns 5,536 shares of the company's stock valued at $460,000 after buying an additional 173 shares during the period. Prospera Financial Services Inc boosted its position in Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 3.9% in the 4th quarter. Prospera Financial Services Inc now owns 4,759 shares of the company's stock valued at $376,000 after buying an additional 178 shares during the period. Finally, MetLife Investment Management LLC grew its stake in Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 2.6% in the 4th quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC now owns 9,674 shares of the company's stock worth $765,000 after acquiring an additional 246 shares in the last quarter. 93.86% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.
About Ionis Pharmaceuticals
(
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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