Ionis Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:IONS) Sets New 52-Week Low – Time to Sell?

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on the company. Piper Sandler dropped their target price on Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $65.00 to $62.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, November 14th. Needham & Company LLC reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $60.00 price target on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Friday, December 20th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $82.00 to $77.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, November 7th. StockNews.com lowered shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 12th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and set a $70.00 price target on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Wednesday, January 15th. Two equities research 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. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $60.65.

Ionis Pharmaceuticals Stock Up 0.1 %

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Brett P. Monia sold 38,843 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $31.65, for a total transaction of $1,229,380.95. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 180,683 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,718,616.95. The trade was a 17.69 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Patrick R. O’neil sold 6,165 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $31.62, for a total value of $194,937.30. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 57,452 shares in the company, valued at $1,816,632.24. This represents a 9.69 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 110,609 shares of company stock valued at $3,564,867. 2.71% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Ionis Pharmaceuticals

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Teacher Retirement System of Texas boosted its holdings in Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 16.0% during the fourth quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas now owns 65,792 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,300,000 after purchasing an additional 9,093 shares in the last quarter. Privium Fund Management B.V. boosted its holdings in Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 6.4% in the fourth quarter. Privium Fund Management B.V. now owns 266,794 shares of the company’s stock valued at $9,327,000 after acquiring an additional 16,050 shares during the last quarter. Xponance Inc. lifted its holdings in Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 1.7% in the fourth quarter. Xponance Inc. now owns 19,339 shares of the company’s stock valued at $676,000 after buying an additional 318 shares during the period. Horizon Kinetics Asset Management LLC raised its position in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 4.4% in the 4th quarter. Horizon Kinetics Asset Management LLC now owns 12,476 shares of the company’s stock valued at $436,000 after acquiring an additional 524 shares during the period. Finally, Signaturefd LLC boosted its stake in Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 160.0% during the 4th quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 949 shares of the company’s stock worth $33,000 after acquiring an additional 584 shares during the last quarter. 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.