Ionis Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:IONS) Reaches New 12-Month Low – Here’s Why

Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:IONS) reached a new 52-week low during trading on Monday. The stock traded as low as $41.76 and last traded at $41.9550, with a volume of 380,667 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $43.52.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have issued reports on IONS. Citigroup reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Wednesday, October 21st. The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their target price on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $69.00 to $56.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, September 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $76.00 to $70.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, September 22nd. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Saturday, August 1st. Finally, 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 report on Monday, July 13th. Nineteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $89.48.

Ionis Pharmaceuticals Stock Performance

The company has a current ratio of 7.89, a quick ratio of 7.73 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.07. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $48.22 and a 200 day moving average price of $66.44. The firm has a market cap of $6.67 billion, a PE ratio of -11.60 and a beta of 0.43.

Insider Transactions at Ionis Pharmaceuticals

In related news, EVP Shannon Devers sold 1,357 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, October 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $43.54, for a total transaction of $59,083.78. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 17,811 shares in the company, valued at approximately $775,490.94. This trade represents a 7.08% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Insiders own 1.81% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Ionis Pharmaceuticals

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Alyeska Investment Group L.P. raised its holdings in Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 199.7% in the second quarter. Alyeska Investment Group L.P. now owns 1,417,916 shares of the company’s stock valued at $112,427,000 after acquiring an additional 944,766 shares in the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE acquired a new position in Ionis Pharmaceuticals during the 2nd quarter worth $62,718,000. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. acquired a new position in Ionis Pharmaceuticals during the 2nd quarter worth $54,253,000. TimesSquare Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in Ionis Pharmaceuticals during the 2nd quarter worth $48,690,000. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp bought a new stake in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals in the 2nd quarter worth about $43,011,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.86% of the company’s stock.

Ionis Pharmaceuticals Company Profile

Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc is a biotechnology company focused on discovering and developing medicines using antisense technology. Its platform is designed to selectively target RNA and regulate the production of disease-related proteins. The company develops therapies for neurological, cardiovascular and metabolic, and rare diseases.

Ionis has developed and commercialized medicines both independently and through collaborations with larger pharmaceutical companies. Its marketed or partnered products include Spinraza (nusinersen) for spinal muscular atrophy, Tegsedi (inotersen) and Wainua (eplontersen) for hereditary transthyretin amyloidosis, and Tryngolza (olezarsen) for familial chylomicronemia syndrome.