Key Points
- Director Allene Diaz sold 10,111 Ionis Pharmaceuticals shares on July 7 at an average price of $85.42, totaling about $863,682. After the sale, her stake fell by 72.63% to 3,811 shares.
- The sale was disclosed in an SEC filing and executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 plan, which indicates it was scheduled in advance rather than made on short notice.
- Ionis has been under pressure from recent clinical setbacks, including Phase 3 trial misses for eplontersen/Wainua in ATTR-CM, while analysts still maintain a mostly positive stance with a consensus “Moderate Buy” and average target of $100.80.
Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:IONS - Get Free Report) EVP Holly Kordasiewicz sold 362 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $84.30, for a total transaction of $30,516.60. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 22,096 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,862,692.80. The trade was a 1.61% 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. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan.
Ionis Pharmaceuticals Stock Down 23.9%
Shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals stock opened at $64.27 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $10.62 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -31.05 and a beta of 0.36. Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. has a 52-week low of $40.03 and a 52-week high of $86.74. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.75, a quick ratio of 4.09 and a current ratio of 4.10. The company's 50 day moving average price is $76.12 and its 200-day moving average price is $77.41.
Ionis Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:IONS - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 29th. The company reported ($0.56) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.85) by $0.29. The firm had revenue of $246.09 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $195.56 million. Ionis Pharmaceuticals had a negative net margin of 30.91% and a negative return on equity of 58.65%. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 86.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned ($0.93) earnings per share. Equities research analysts forecast that Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. will post -3.69 EPS for the current year.
Key Headlines Impacting Ionis Pharmaceuticals
Here are the key news stories impacting Ionis Pharmaceuticals this week:
- Negative Sentiment: Ionis and AstraZeneca said the Phase 3 CARDIO-TTRansform trial for eplontersen in ATTR-CM did not meet its primary endpoint, a key clinical and commercial setback for the program. Article Title
- Negative Sentiment: Reuters reported that AstraZeneca-Ionis’ Wainua failed to meet the main goal of reducing cardiovascular deaths and recurring heart problems in the late-stage study, reinforcing concerns about the franchise. Article Title
- Negative Sentiment: Shares saw unusually large put-buying, suggesting some traders are positioning for further downside after the trial disappointment.
- Negative Sentiment: Two insiders disclosed stock sales under pre-arranged 10b5-1 plans, including Director Allene M. Diaz and EVP Holly B. Kordasiewicz, which may add to near-term investor caution.
- Neutral Sentiment: Needham lowered its price target to $86 from $105 but reiterated a Buy rating, indicating continued optimism despite the reduced valuation outlook. Article Title
- Neutral Sentiment: Some coverage notes that investors are debating whether the selloff creates a buying opportunity, but this is sentiment-driven rather than a fundamental catalyst. Article Title
Institutional Investors Weigh In On Ionis Pharmaceuticals
A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. raised its stake 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 period. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC boosted its stake in Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 6.4% during 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 buying an additional 39,794 shares during the last quarter. Focus Partners Wealth grew its holdings in Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 30.1% during the 1st quarter. Focus Partners Wealth now owns 9,832 shares of the company's stock valued at $297,000 after buying an additional 2,277 shares in the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. purchased a new position in Ionis Pharmaceuticals during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $220,000. Finally, Prudential Financial Inc. increased its stake in Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 47.8% in the 2nd quarter. Prudential Financial Inc. now owns 9,254 shares of the company's stock worth $341,000 after acquiring an additional 2,991 shares during the last quarter. 93.86% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.
Analyst Ratings Changes
A number of research firms have weighed in on IONS. Citigroup started coverage on Ionis Pharmaceuticals in a report on Monday, May 18th. They set a "buy" rating and a $115.00 target price on the stock. Leerink Partners raised their price objective on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $122.00 to $129.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, June 25th. TD Cowen restated a "buy" rating and issued a $108.00 price target on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Monday, June 15th. Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their price objective on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $95.00 to $100.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, April 30th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group dropped their target price on Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $113.00 to $90.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday. Two 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 assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $100.80.
View Our Latest 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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