Ionis Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:IONS) EVP Eric Swayze Sells 10,602 Shares

Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:IONS) EVP Eric Swayze sold 10,602 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $79.18, for a total value of $839,466.36. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 21,759 shares in the company, valued at $1,722,877.62. This represents a 32.76% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan.

Ionis Pharmaceuticals Trading Up 3.6%

IONS opened at $81.18 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.75, a quick ratio of 4.09 and a current ratio of 4.10. Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. has a one year low of $39.37 and a one year high of $86.74. The company has a market cap of $13.42 billion, a P/E ratio of -39.22 and a beta of 0.37. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $75.03 and its 200-day simple moving average is $77.36.

Ionis Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:IONS) last announced its quarterly earnings results 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 during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $195.56 million. Ionis Pharmaceuticals had a negative return on equity of 58.65% and a negative net margin of 30.91%.The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 86.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted ($0.93) earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. will post -3.64 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ionis Pharmaceuticals News Summary

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

• Positive Sentiment: Ionis received FDA approval expanding TRYNGOLZA to treat severe hypertriglyceridemia, strengthening the drug’s commercial opportunity and making it the first approved therapy for the condition. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Ionis announced a licensing deal with Recordati for ex-U.S. rights to zilganersen in Alexander disease, which provides upfront and royalty potential while allowing Ionis to keep U.S. commercialization rights. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Leerink Partners raised its price target on Ionis, signaling continued analyst confidence in the company’s pipeline and commercial execution. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: HC Wainwright kept a Buy rating but lowered some 2027 EPS estimates, which is a mild headwind but not a major shift in the firm’s overall view. Article Title

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms recently weighed in on IONS. Weiss Ratings restated a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Tuesday, April 21st. Royal Bank Of Canada raised their target price 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. Leerink Partners lifted their target price on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $122.00 to $129.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $95.00 to $130.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 21st. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group began coverage on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Monday, April 20th. They set a “buy” rating and a $110.00 price objective for the company. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have given a Buy rating, two have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $102.90.

Institutional Trading of Ionis Pharmaceuticals

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Jain Global LLC increased its holdings in Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 3,037.4% during the 3rd quarter. Jain Global LLC now owns 225,739 shares of the company’s stock worth $14,768,000 after purchasing an additional 218,544 shares during the last quarter. DAVENPORT & Co LLC lifted its position in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 248.3% during the fourth quarter. DAVENPORT & Co LLC now owns 217,897 shares of the company’s stock worth $17,238,000 after purchasing an additional 155,334 shares during the last quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. lifted its position in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 230.4% during the third quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. now owns 878,155 shares of the company’s stock worth $57,449,000 after purchasing an additional 612,362 shares during the last quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC grew its stake in Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 548.7% in the fourth quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 33,409 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,643,000 after purchasing an additional 28,259 shares in the last quarter. Finally, DCF Advisers LLC increased its holdings in Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 18.2% in the third quarter. DCF Advisers LLC now owns 108,413 shares of the company’s stock valued at $7,092,000 after buying an additional 16,663 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.