Ionis Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:IONS) Shares Gap Down to $48.33

Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:IONS) gapped down before the market opened on Tuesday . The stock had previously closed at $48.33, but opened at $44.49. Ionis Pharmaceuticals shares last traded at $43.49, with a volume of 3,116,130 shares changing hands.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on the company. Jefferies Financial Group began coverage on Ionis Pharmaceuticals in a report on Tuesday, July 16th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $75.00 target price on the stock. TD Cowen raised their price target on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $54.00 to $59.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 23rd. Barclays lifted their price target on Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $45.00 to $51.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. Sanford C. Bernstein raised Ionis Pharmaceuticals from an “underperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and set a $44.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Friday, June 14th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $60.00 target price on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating, twelve have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Ionis Pharmaceuticals has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $60.68.

Ionis Pharmaceuticals Trading Up 0.3 %

The company has a quick ratio of 7.51, a current ratio of 7.61 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.67. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $47.88 and a 200 day moving average of $44.00. The firm has a market cap of $6.21 billion, a PE ratio of -15.93 and a beta of 0.39.

Ionis Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:IONS) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The company reported ($0.45) EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.92) by $0.47. Ionis Pharmaceuticals had a negative return on equity of 115.66% and a negative net margin of 44.90%. The firm had revenue of $225.00 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $152.35 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.60 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 19.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts anticipate that Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. will post -3.69 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Ionis Pharmaceuticals

In related news, Director Joseph Klein III sold 12,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $50.00, for a total transaction of $600,000.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 16,346 shares in the company, valued at approximately $817,300. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In related news, EVP Richard S. Geary sold 2,430 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, August 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $48.00, for a total transaction of $116,640.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 85,508 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,104,384. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Joseph Klein III sold 12,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $50.00, for a total value of $600,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 16,346 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $817,300. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 14,750 shares of company stock worth $732,371 over the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 2.71% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Ionis Pharmaceuticals

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of IONS. Truist Financial Corp purchased a new position in Ionis Pharmaceuticals in the 4th quarter worth approximately $504,000. Victory Capital Management Inc. grew its position in Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 80.1% in the fourth quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 27,793 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,406,000 after acquiring an additional 12,357 shares in the last quarter. Natixis Advisors L.P. increased its stake in Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 8.8% in the fourth quarter. Natixis Advisors L.P. now owns 17,313 shares of the company’s stock valued at $875,000 after acquiring an additional 1,394 shares during the last quarter. M&T Bank Corp raised its position in Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 7.8% during the fourth quarter. M&T Bank Corp now owns 5,188 shares of the company’s stock valued at $263,000 after purchasing an additional 376 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its stake in Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 2.7% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,275,319 shares of the company’s stock worth $64,518,000 after purchasing an additional 33,012 shares during the last quarter. 93.86% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Ionis Pharmaceuticals Company Profile

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.