Brett Monia Sells 29,430 Shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:IONS) Stock

Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:IONS) CEO Brett Monia sold 29,430 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $85.79, for a total value of $2,524,799.70. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 254,497 shares in the company, valued at approximately $21,833,297.63. The trade was a 10.37% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink.

Ionis Pharmaceuticals Stock Down 0.6%

Shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals stock traded down $0.50 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $84.29. 1,382,673 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,252,163. The stock has a market cap of $13.65 billion, a P/E ratio of -49.88 and a beta of 0.29. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $80.67 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $68.64. Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. has a twelve month low of $23.95 and a twelve month high of $86.74. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.96, a quick ratio of 2.78 and a current ratio of 2.79.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have recently commented on IONS shares. Raymond James Financial restated a “strong-buy” rating and set a $89.00 price target (up previously from $85.00) on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Thursday, October 30th. Weiss Ratings restated a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals in a report on Thursday, January 22nd. Barclays initiated coverage on Ionis Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Wednesday, January 28th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $95.00 price target for the company. HC Wainwright raised their price objective on Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $100.00 to $110.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, November 10th. Finally, Wall Street Zen cut Ionis Pharmaceuticals from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, November 1st. 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 assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $86.95.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Ionis Pharmaceuticals

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. raised its position in Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 253.3% in the second quarter. Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. now owns 3,800,000 shares of the company’s stock worth $150,138,000 after purchasing an additional 2,724,400 shares in the last quarter. Marshall Wace LLP grew its stake in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 7,219.3% in the 3rd quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 958,829 shares of the company’s stock valued at $62,727,000 after purchasing an additional 945,729 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc. grew its stake in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 190.3% in the 3rd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 1,372,225 shares of the company’s stock valued at $89,771,000 after purchasing an additional 899,476 shares during the period. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership acquired a new position in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $41,223,000. Finally, Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. lifted its position in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 230.4% during the 3rd quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. now owns 878,155 shares of the company’s stock worth $57,449,000 after buying an additional 612,362 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.86% of the company’s stock.

About Ionis Pharmaceuticals

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.