Ionis Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:IONS) Sees Large Volume Increase – Should You Buy?

Shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:IONS) saw strong trading volume on Friday . 1,585,702 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 29% from the previous session’s volume of 2,220,887 shares.The stock last traded at $59.3680 and had previously closed at $64.27.

Ionis Pharmaceuticals News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting Ionis Pharmaceuticals this week:

• Negative Sentiment: Ionis and AstraZeneca reported that the Phase 3 CARDIO-TTRansform trial for eplontersen/Wainua did not meet its primary endpoint in transthyretin-mediated amyloid cardiomyopathy, a significant blow to the drug’s commercial prospects and a key reason the stock is under pressure. Article Title
• Negative Sentiment: Reuters also reported the late-stage failure, reinforcing concerns that the heart-disease franchise may not deliver the results investors had been expecting. Article Title
• Negative Sentiment: There was unusual put-option buying and multiple insider stock sales under pre-arranged 10b5-1 plans, both of which can signal more caution from traders and investors near term.
• Neutral Sentiment: Several analysts cut their price targets, including HC Wainwright, Morgan Stanley, Canaccord, and Needham, but all maintained positive ratings such as Buy or Overweight, suggesting Wall Street still sees meaningful upside despite the reset in expectations. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: Ionis also updated FY2026 revenue guidance to $875 million-$900 million, which is broadly in line with consensus and does not offset the market’s focus on the trial miss.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms recently commented on IONS. Citigroup cut their price objective on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $115.00 to $100.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday. Needham & Company LLC lowered their target price on Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $105.00 to $86.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday. Raymond James Financial set a $87.00 price target on Ionis Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Thursday. Oppenheimer restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $111.00 price target on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals in a report on Thursday, April 30th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price objective on Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $74.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 24th. Eighteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $96.80.

Ionis Pharmaceuticals Trading Down 9.0%

The company has a market cap of $9.67 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -28.21 and a beta of 0.36. 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 firm has a fifty day moving average price of $76.12 and a 200 day moving average price of $77.41.

Ionis Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:IONS) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 29th. The company reported ($0.56) earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.85) by $0.29. Ionis Pharmaceuticals had a negative net margin of 30.91% and a negative return on equity of 58.65%. The company had revenue of $246.09 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $195.56 million. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned ($0.93) EPS. Ionis Pharmaceuticals’s revenue for the quarter was up 86.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts predict that Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. will post -3.69 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Ionis Pharmaceuticals

In related news, EVP C Frank Bennett sold 5,536 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $83.58, for a total transaction of $462,698.88. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 75,018 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,270,004.44. The trade was a 6.87% 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. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, EVP Holly B. Kordasiewicz sold 362 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $84.30, for a total value of $30,516.60. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 22,096 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,862,692.80. This trade represents a 1.61% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 244,038 shares of company stock valued at $19,139,399. Company insiders own 1.81% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Ionis Pharmaceuticals

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 72.5% in the first 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 holdings in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 6.4% during the 1st quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 659,435 shares of the company’s stock worth $19,895,000 after buying an additional 39,794 shares during the period. Focus Partners Wealth boosted its holdings 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 period. Franklin Resources Inc. acquired a new position in Ionis Pharmaceuticals in the 2nd quarter valued at about $220,000. Finally, Prudential Financial Inc. grew 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 valued at $341,000 after buying an additional 2,991 shares during the last quarter. 93.86% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Ionis Pharmaceuticals Company Profile

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.