Ionis Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:IONS) Hits New 52-Week Low – Time to Sell?

Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:IONS)’s share price reached a new 52-week low during trading on Tuesday . The stock traded as low as $49.19 and last traded at $48.99, with a volume of 313003 shares. The stock had previously closed at $51.44.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Friday, July 17th. Royal Bank Of Canada cut their price objective on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $100.00 to $85.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, July 13th. Needham & Company LLC restated a “buy” rating and issued a $86.00 target price on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Friday, September 4th. Wolfe Research restated a “peer perform” rating on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Thursday, July 16th. Finally, TD Cowen reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals in a report on Tuesday, September 8th. Seventeen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Ionis Pharmaceuticals has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $90.80.

Ionis Pharmaceuticals Stock Down 5.8%

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.07, a quick ratio of 7.73 and a current ratio of 7.89. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $58.17 and a 200 day moving average price of $69.30. The firm has a market capitalization of $8.05 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -14.10 and a beta of 0.42.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Ionis Pharmaceuticals news, EVP Eugene Schneider sold 26,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, June 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $81.05, for a total value of $2,107,300.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 77,114 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,250,089.70. This trade represents a 25.21% decrease in their ownership of the stock. 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, Director Michael Hayden purchased 5,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, July 31st. The stock was bought at an average price of $51.60 per share, with a total value of $258,000.00. Following the acquisition, the director directly owned 24,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,238,400. This represents a 26.32% increase in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this purchase are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold 156,317 shares of company stock valued at $12,656,566 in the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 1.81% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in IONS. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $283,000. Tidal Investments LLC grew its holdings in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 42.8% in the 2nd quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 49,178 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,899,000 after acquiring an additional 14,746 shares during the period. MCF Advisors LLC increased its stake in Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 12,172.0% in the 2nd quarter. MCF Advisors LLC now owns 6,136 shares of the company’s stock valued at $487,000 after purchasing an additional 6,086 shares in the last quarter. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC increased its stake in Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 7.4% in the 2nd quarter. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC now owns 2,926 shares of the company’s stock valued at $232,000 after purchasing an additional 202 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Arizona State Retirement System raised its holdings in Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 2.5% during the second quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 43,302 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,433,000 after purchasing an additional 1,036 shares during the last quarter. 93.86% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Ionis Pharmaceuticals

Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc is a biotechnology company that discovers and develops medicines using antisense technology, which is designed to target RNA and influence the production of disease-related proteins. The company focuses on neurological, cardiovascular, metabolic and other serious diseases for which there remains a significant unmet medical need.

Ionis has developed several approved therapies, including SPINRAZA (nusinersen) for spinal muscular atrophy, QALSODY (tofersen) for a form of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, TEGSEDI (inotersen) for hereditary transthyretin-mediated amyloidosis and WAYLIVRA (volanesorsen) for familial chylomicronemia syndrome in certain markets.