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

Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:IONS)’s share price hit a new 52-week low during mid-day trading on Tuesday . The stock traded as low as $30.90 and last traded at $31.50, with a volume of 74774 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $31.48.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $82.00 to $77.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, November 7th. William Blair reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals in a report on Friday, December 20th. Needham & Company LLC restated a “buy” rating and set a $60.00 target price on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Friday, December 20th. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $70.00 target price on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Wednesday, January 15th. Finally, StockNews.com cut Ionis Pharmaceuticals from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 12th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating, twelve have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $60.65.

Ionis Pharmaceuticals Trading Up 0.1 %

The company has a quick ratio of 8.82, a current ratio of 8.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.86. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $34.70 and a 200 day moving average price of $39.36. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.98 billion, a PE ratio of -12.91 and a beta of 0.34.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Patrick R. O’neil sold 6,165 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $31.62, for a total transaction of $194,937.30. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 57,452 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,816,632.24. This represents a 9.69 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Eric Swayze sold 1,367 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, January 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $32.31, for a total value of $44,167.77. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 48,017 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,551,429.27. This represents a 2.77 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 110,609 shares of company stock valued at $3,564,867. Corporate insiders own 2.71% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Ionis Pharmaceuticals

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. SG Americas Securities LLC bought a new stake in Ionis Pharmaceuticals during the third quarter valued at approximately $297,000. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its position in Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 83.9% during the third quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 664 shares of the company’s stock valued at $27,000 after acquiring an additional 303 shares during the last quarter. Creative Planning raised its stake in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 5.7% during the third quarter. Creative Planning now owns 28,382 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,137,000 after acquiring an additional 1,522 shares in the last quarter. Bleakley Financial Group LLC raised its position in Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 2.1% in the 3rd quarter. Bleakley Financial Group LLC now owns 16,678 shares of the company’s stock worth $668,000 after purchasing an additional 338 shares during the period. Finally, International Assets Investment Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 3,287.0% in the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 328,772 shares of the company’s stock valued at $13,171,000 after acquiring an additional 319,065 shares during the last quarter. 93.86% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other 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.