Ionis Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:IONS) Sets New 1-Year Low – Here’s Why

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on IONS shares. Guggenheim cut their price target on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $70.00 to $65.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, October 9th. StockNews.com lowered Ionis Pharmaceuticals from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 12th. William Blair reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Friday, December 20th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $82.00 to $77.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, November 7th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $70.00 target price on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals in a report on Wednesday. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating, twelve have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Ionis Pharmaceuticals presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $60.65.

Ionis Pharmaceuticals Trading Down 2.0 %

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.86, a current ratio of 8.91 and a quick ratio of 8.82. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.14 billion, a P/E ratio of -13.30 and a beta of 0.35. The business’s 50-day moving average is $35.91 and its 200 day moving average is $41.34.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Michael R. Hayden purchased 5,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 23rd. The stock was acquired at an average price of $36.22 per share, with a total value of $181,100.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now directly owns 35,219 shares in the company, valued at $1,275,632.18. This trade represents a 16.55 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Brett P. Monia sold 6,630 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $38.05, for a total transaction of $252,271.50. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 167,393 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,369,303.65. This represents a 3.81 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 2.71% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 83.9% in the 3rd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 664 shares of the company’s stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 303 shares in the last quarter. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. acquired a new stake in Ionis Pharmaceuticals in the second quarter valued at about $37,000. Capital Performance Advisors LLP bought a new position in Ionis Pharmaceuticals in the third quarter valued at about $40,000. Prospera Private Wealth LLC bought a new position in Ionis Pharmaceuticals in the third quarter valued at about $42,000. Finally, Quantbot Technologies LP acquired a new position in Ionis Pharmaceuticals during the third quarter worth about $51,000. 93.86% of the stock is 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.