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

Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:IONS)’s stock price reached a new 52-week high during trading on Thursday . The stock traded as high as $86.74 and last traded at $86.2210, with a volume of 319030 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $84.99.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

IONS has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. TD Cowen reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals in a report on Wednesday, December 3rd. Raymond James Financial reissued a “strong-buy” rating and set a $89.00 price objective (up from $85.00) on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Thursday, October 30th. Needham & Company LLC raised their target price on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $78.00 to $90.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, October 30th. Piper Sandler boosted their price target on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $70.00 to $77.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 4th. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals from $90.00 to $94.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, October 30th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have given a Buy rating, three have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Ionis Pharmaceuticals currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $86.45.

Ionis Pharmaceuticals Stock Performance

The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $80.46 and a 200-day simple moving average of $67.26. The company has a quick ratio of 2.78, a current ratio of 2.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.96. The company has a market cap of $13.84 billion, a PE ratio of -50.57 and a beta of 0.29.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Patrick R. O’neil sold 6,179 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $83.53, for a total transaction of $516,131.87. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 71,983 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,012,739.99. This trade represents a 7.91% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Brett P. Monia sold 62,970 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, January 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $82.72, for a total transaction of $5,208,878.40. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 283,927 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $23,486,441.44. This represents a 18.15% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last three months, insiders sold 431,284 shares of company stock valued at $34,770,331. 2.60% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Ionis Pharmaceuticals

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Castle Rock Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Ionis Pharmaceuticals in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $215,000. Stanley Laman Group Ltd. acquired a new position in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals in the third quarter worth $2,340,000. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals in the second quarter valued at $17,790,000. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA lifted its position in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 66.1% in the third quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 862,593 shares of the company’s stock valued at $56,431,000 after acquiring an additional 343,409 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. boosted its stake in shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals by 1,669.0% during the third quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 312,297 shares of the company’s stock valued at $20,430,000 after acquiring an additional 294,643 shares during the last quarter. 93.86% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Ionis Pharmaceuticals Company Profile

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.