Ionis Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:IONS) Sets New 1-Year Low – What’s Next?

Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:IONS)’s stock price hit a new 52-week low during trading on Thursday . The stock traded as low as $32.48 and last traded at $32.64, with a volume of 375661 shares. The stock had previously closed at $33.21.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages recently weighed in on IONS. Needham & Company LLC restated a “buy” rating and issued a $60.00 price objective on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals in a report on Friday, December 20th. StockNews.com lowered Ionis Pharmaceuticals from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 12th. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $70.00 price objective on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Wednesday. Piper Sandler cut their target price on Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $65.00 to $62.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, November 14th. Finally, William Blair restated an “outperform” rating on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Friday, December 20th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating, twelve have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Ionis Pharmaceuticals has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $60.65.

Ionis Pharmaceuticals Stock Performance

The stock has a 50-day moving average of $35.63 and a 200-day moving average of $41.17. The firm has a market cap of $4.96 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -12.88 and a beta of 0.35. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.86, a quick ratio of 8.82 and a current ratio of 8.91.

Insider Buying and Selling at Ionis Pharmaceuticals

In other news, EVP Eric Swayze sold 1,194 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $37.92, for a total value of $45,276.48. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 33,713 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,278,396.96. The trade was a 3.42 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Brett P. Monia sold 6,630 shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $38.05, for a total transaction of $252,271.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 167,393 shares in the company, valued at $6,369,303.65. This trade represents a 3.81 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 57,293 shares of company stock worth $1,914,820 over the last quarter. 2.71% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its stake in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 83.9% in the third quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 664 shares of the company’s stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 303 shares during the last quarter. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. acquired a new stake in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals in the 2nd quarter valued at about $37,000. Capital Performance Advisors LLP acquired a new position in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals during the third quarter worth approximately $40,000. Prospera Private Wealth LLC bought a new stake in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals during the third quarter worth about $42,000. Finally, Quantbot Technologies LP purchased a new stake in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals in the third quarter worth approximately $51,000. 93.86% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

About Ionis Pharmaceuticals

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.