Ionis Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:IONS) Hits New 1-Year Low – Time to Sell?

Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:IONS)’s share price hit a new 52-week low during trading on Monday . The stock traded as low as $25.52 and last traded at $25.79, with a volume of 101201 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $27.09.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on IONS shares. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $60.00 price target on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals in a report on Tuesday. StockNews.com raised shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals to a “sell” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 18th. William Blair reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Friday, December 20th. Redburn Atlantic began coverage on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Monday, March 31st. They set a “neutral” rating and a $39.00 price objective for the company. Finally, BMO Capital Markets cut their target price on Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $60.00 to $45.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, February 20th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating, thirteen have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $57.70.

Ionis Pharmaceuticals Price Performance

The stock’s 50-day moving average is $31.60 and its 200 day moving average is $34.94. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.12, a quick ratio of 8.82 and a current ratio of 8.47. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.06 billion, a PE ratio of -8.39 and a beta of 0.29.

Ionis Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:IONS) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 19th. The company reported ($0.66) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($1.12) by $0.46. Ionis Pharmaceuticals had a negative return on equity of 100.05% and a negative net margin of 64.25%. The company had revenue of $227.00 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $140.97 million. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.12 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 30.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts expect that Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. will post -3.5 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Ionis Pharmaceuticals

In other news, EVP Eric Swayze sold 7,154 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $32.84, for a total value of $234,937.36. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 45,670 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,499,802.80. This represents a 13.54 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Patrick R. O’neil sold 1,207 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $32.35, for a total value of $39,046.45. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 56,245 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,819,525.75. This represents a 2.10 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 111,956 shares of company stock worth $3,608,439. 2.71% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Signaturefd LLC increased its position in Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 160.0% during the 4th quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 949 shares of the company’s stock worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 584 shares during the period. Huntington National Bank grew its holdings in Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 193.5% during the fourth quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 951 shares of the company’s stock worth $33,000 after acquiring an additional 627 shares during the period. Lindbrook Capital LLC raised its position in Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 183.8% in the fourth quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC now owns 1,036 shares of the company’s stock worth $36,000 after acquiring an additional 671 shares in the last quarter. Raiffeisen Bank International AG purchased a new position in Ionis Pharmaceuticals in the fourth quarter worth $62,000. Finally, Venturi Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Ionis Pharmaceuticals in the fourth quarter valued at $107,000. 93.86% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Ionis Pharmaceuticals

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.