Insider Selling: Ionis Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:IONS) CEO Sells 62,970 Shares of Stock

Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:IONS) CEO Brett Monia sold 62,970 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $82.72, for a total transaction of $5,208,878.40. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 283,927 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $23,486,441.44. The trade was a 18.15% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link.

Ionis Pharmaceuticals Trading Up 0.5%

IONS traded up $0.40 on Monday, hitting $83.07. 1,788,929 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,332,586. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.96, a quick ratio of 2.78 and a current ratio of 2.79. Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. has a 12 month low of $23.95 and a 12 month high of $86.15. The stock has a market capitalization of $13.45 billion, a PE ratio of -49.15 and a beta of 0.29. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $80.34 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $66.84.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on IONS shares. Stifel Nicolaus increased their target price on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $43.00 to $67.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, October 6th. TD Cowen reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals in a report on Wednesday, December 3rd. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $82.00 to $100.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, January 5th. Needham & Company LLC boosted their price target on Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $78.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 30th. Finally, HC Wainwright raised their price target on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $100.00 to $110.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, November 10th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have assigned a Buy rating, three have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Ionis Pharmaceuticals currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $86.45.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Ionis Pharmaceuticals

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Capital World Investors raised its holdings in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 1.5% during the third quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 12,722,728 shares of the company’s stock worth $832,321,000 after purchasing an additional 182,540 shares during the last quarter. Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. raised its holdings 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 valued at $150,138,000 after acquiring an additional 2,724,400 shares in the last quarter. Tweedy Browne Co LLC raised its stake in Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 0.3% in the third quarter. Tweedy Browne Co LLC now owns 2,901,216 shares of the company’s stock valued at $189,798,000 after buying an additional 9,268 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 1.7% during the second quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,891,095 shares of the company’s stock worth $114,245,000 after purchasing an additional 48,141 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Pictet Asset Management Holding SA grew its holdings in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 1.8% during the fourth quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA now owns 1,418,491 shares of the company’s stock worth $112,476,000 after purchasing an additional 25,367 shares during the last quarter. 93.86% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.