C Frank Bennett Sells 15,000 Shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:IONS) Stock

Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:IONS) EVP C Frank Bennett sold 15,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $85.46, for a total transaction of $1,281,900.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 75,018 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,411,038.28. This trade represents a 16.66% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan.

C Frank Bennett also recently made the following trade(s):

• On Tuesday, July 7th, C Frank Bennett sold 5,536 shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $83.58, for a total transaction of $462,698.88.

Ionis Pharmaceuticals Stock Performance

NASDAQ IONS traded down $20.19 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $64.27. 20,428,096 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,012,255. The company has a market cap of $10.62 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -31.05 and a beta of 0.36. Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. has a 12-month low of $40.03 and a 12-month high of $86.74. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $76.12 and a 200 day moving average of $77.41. The company has a quick ratio of 4.09, a current ratio of 4.10 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.75.

Ionis Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:IONS) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 29th. The company reported ($0.56) earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.85) by $0.29. Ionis Pharmaceuticals had a negative return on equity of 58.65% and a negative net margin of 30.91%.The company had revenue of $246.09 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $195.56 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned ($0.93) EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 86.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. will post -3.69 earnings per share for the current year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

IONS has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $95.00 to $130.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 21st. Weiss Ratings reissued a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals in a report on Tuesday, April 21st. Barclays boosted their target price on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $106.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. Citigroup assumed coverage on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals in a report on Monday, May 18th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $115.00 price target for the company. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, May 2nd. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have assigned a Buy rating, two have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $100.80.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in IONS. Grandfield & Dodd LLC raised its position in Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 0.4% during the fourth quarter. Grandfield & Dodd LLC now owns 37,821 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,992,000 after acquiring an additional 146 shares in the last quarter. Checchi Capital Advisers LLC increased its stake in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 3.7% during the 1st quarter. Checchi Capital Advisers LLC now owns 4,429 shares of the company’s stock worth $333,000 after purchasing an additional 157 shares during the last quarter. Wedmont Private Capital increased its stake in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 3.2% during the 4th quarter. Wedmont Private Capital now owns 5,536 shares of the company’s stock worth $460,000 after purchasing an additional 173 shares during the last quarter. Prospera Financial Services Inc raised its holdings in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 3.9% during the 4th quarter. Prospera Financial Services Inc now owns 4,759 shares of the company’s stock valued at $376,000 after purchasing an additional 178 shares in the last quarter. Finally, MetLife Investment Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 2.6% in the 4th quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC now owns 9,674 shares of the company’s stock valued at $765,000 after purchasing an additional 246 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.86% of the company’s stock.

Ionis Pharmaceuticals News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting Ionis Pharmaceuticals this week:

• Negative Sentiment: Ionis and AstraZeneca said the Phase 3 CARDIO-TTRansform trial for eplontersen in ATTR-CM did not meet its primary endpoint, a key clinical and commercial setback for the program. Article Title
• Negative Sentiment: Reuters reported that AstraZeneca-Ionis’ Wainua failed to meet the main goal of reducing cardiovascular deaths and recurring heart problems in the late-stage study, reinforcing concerns about the franchise. Article Title
• Negative Sentiment: Shares saw unusually large put-buying, suggesting some traders are positioning for further downside after the trial disappointment.
• Negative Sentiment: Two insiders disclosed stock sales under pre-arranged 10b5-1 plans, including Director Allene M. Diaz and EVP Holly B. Kordasiewicz, which may add to near-term investor caution.
• Neutral Sentiment: Needham lowered its price target to $86 from $105 but reiterated a Buy rating, indicating continued optimism despite the reduced valuation outlook. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: Some coverage notes that investors are debating whether the selloff creates a buying opportunity, but this is sentiment-driven rather than a fundamental catalyst. Article Title

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.