Ionis Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:IONS) Hits New 52-Week Low on Insider Selling

Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:IONS) shares reached a new 52-week low during trading on Friday after an insider sold shares in the company. The stock traded as low as $35.37 and last traded at $35.51, with a volume of 248925 shares. The stock had previously closed at $37.23.

Specifically, CEO Brett P. Monia sold 6,630 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $38.05, for a total transaction of $252,271.50. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 167,393 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,369,303.65. This trade represents a 3.81 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Eric Swayze sold 1,194 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $37.92, for a total value of $45,276.48. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 33,713 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,278,396.96. The trade was a 3.42 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here.

Analyst Ratings Changes

IONS has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. TD Cowen boosted their price target on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $54.00 to $59.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 23rd. Leerink Partnrs upgraded Ionis Pharmaceuticals from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 24th. StockNews.com downgraded Ionis Pharmaceuticals from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 12th. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price target on Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $33.00 to $37.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. Finally, Barclays increased their price objective on Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $45.00 to $51.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating, twelve have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Ionis Pharmaceuticals presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $60.65.

Ionis Pharmaceuticals Stock Down 7.8 %

The company has a quick ratio of 8.82, a current ratio of 8.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.86. The stock has a market cap of $5.42 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -14.07 and a beta of 0.39. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $39.62 and a two-hundred day moving average of $42.76.

Institutional Trading of Ionis Pharmaceuticals

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky boosted its position in Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 70.6% during the 1st quarter. Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky now owns 24,083 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,044,000 after purchasing an additional 9,965 shares during the period. Edgestream Partners L.P. bought a new stake in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals during the first quarter valued at approximately $765,000. Blair William & Co. IL boosted its position in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 67.4% during the first quarter. Blair William & Co. IL now owns 27,838 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,207,000 after buying an additional 11,210 shares during the period. Tidal Investments LLC bought a new position in Ionis Pharmaceuticals in the 1st quarter worth approximately $885,000. Finally, Great Point Partners LLC acquired a new stake in Ionis Pharmaceuticals in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $15,728,000. Institutional investors own 93.86% of the company’s stock.

Ionis Pharmaceuticals Company Profile

Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc discovers and develops RNA-targeted therapeutics in the United States. The company offers SPINRAZA for spinal muscular atrophy (SMA) in pediatric and adult patients; TEGSEDI, an antisense injection for the treatment of polyneuropathy caused by hereditary transthyretin amyloidosis in adults; and WAYLIVRA, an antisense medicine for treatment for familial chylomicronemia syndrome (FCS) and familial partial lipodystrophy.