Ionis Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:IONS) Stock Price Down 4.3%

Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:IONS)’s share price fell 4.3% during trading on Friday . The stock traded as low as $47.64 and last traded at $47.76. 1,035,568 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 13% from the average session volume of 1,187,637 shares. The stock had previously closed at $49.90.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have issued reports on IONS. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price objective on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $33.00 to $37.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. Leerink Partners raised Ionis Pharmaceuticals from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $53.00 to $62.00 in a report on Wednesday, July 24th. Needham & Company LLC reissued a “buy” rating and set a $60.00 target price on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $50.00 to $55.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, August 26th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets lowered Ionis Pharmaceuticals from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and dropped their price objective for the stock from $67.00 to $60.00 in a report on Friday, August 2nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating, twelve have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $60.68.

Ionis Pharmaceuticals Price Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.67, a quick ratio of 7.51 and a current ratio of 7.61. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $47.90 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $43.93.

Ionis Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:IONS) last released its earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The company reported ($0.45) EPS for the quarter, topping 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 company had revenue of $225.00 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $152.35 million. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.60 EPS. Ionis Pharmaceuticals’s quarterly revenue was up 19.7% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts anticipate that Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. will post -3.69 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity at Ionis Pharmaceuticals

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

Institutional Trading of Ionis Pharmaceuticals

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Pingora Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,000. GAMMA Investing LLC bought a new stake in Ionis Pharmaceuticals during the 4th quarter valued at $26,000. Mather Group LLC. acquired a new position in Ionis Pharmaceuticals during the 1st quarter worth $29,000. nVerses Capital LLC bought a new position in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals in the second quarter worth $29,000. Finally, Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. acquired a new position in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals during the second quarter valued at $37,000. 93.86% of the stock is currently owned by 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.